of jpenttcnt* 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD T. CHURTON, D.D. 
 
 Formerly Bishop of Nassati 
 
 A. R. MOWBRAY & CO. LIMITED 
 
 OXFORD : 106, S. Aldate's Street 
 
 LONDON : 34, Great Castle Street, Oxford Circus, W 
 
 1905
 
 " No pleading of CHRIST'S love, of His sacrifice, can ever be 
 unavailing. Even the single petition of this prayer, ' Forgive us 
 our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us, 1 
 has its own promise of renewed reconciliation : how much more 
 the continued acts of penitence and the Ministry of His Priest- 
 hood, to which He hath said, ' Whose soever sins ye remit, 
 they are remitted unto them ? ' ' (From a Sermon of Canon 
 T. T. Carter, The Cleansing of Christ.)
 
 To THE MISSIONARIES OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH, 
 
 BISHOPS AND PRIESTS, 
 ZEALOUS LAYMEN AND FAITHFUL WOMEN, 
 
 AT HOME AND ABROAD, 
 WHO BRING TO EVERY PLACE THE GOSPEL OF OUR REDEMPTION, 
 
 AND OF SALVATION THROUGH THE MOST HOLY NAME; 
 
 PRAYING THAT THEIR HARVEST MAY BE FULL AND PLENTEOUS HERE ; 
 
 THAT HEREAFTER THEIR SOULS MAY FIND MERCY OF THE LORD 
 
 IN THAT DAY.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 PENITENCE is here considered from the standpoint of an old 
 missionary, who believes that " repentance and remission of 
 sins " are still necessary to be " preached in CHRIST'S Name 
 unto all the nations ; " and who is unable to find himself in 
 complete accord with either the vigorous optimism, or the 
 philosophic calm, 1 by which various minds are attracted at the 
 present time. I believe because it would be impossible for 
 me at this date not to believe that GOD alone is supremely 
 just, that man's moral choice is free, and that his ultimate 
 triumph over evil is secured to him by faith and repentance. 
 But I do not think that he can prevail without a conflict, nor 
 that his victory can be attained except through leaning always 
 on Divine grace. 
 
 Farther, unless we are to be tossed all our lives on a wide 
 sea of doubt, I consider that we require sacramental assurance 
 of GOD'S reception of us into His grace and favour. " GOD is 
 in heaven, we upon earth : " the meeting-point is where He 
 comes to us in a mystery, renewing and applying that love 
 which " loosed us from our sins by His Blood." 2 
 
 The view herein taken, coming as it does from out of the 
 
 1 Compare S. Augustine (Con/, vii. 27) : " Non habent illse paginae 
 [Platonicorum] lacrymas confessionis, sacrificium Tuum, spiritum con- 
 tribulatum, cor contritum et humiliatum." Our highest life in this militant 
 Church is the life of union through penitence with JESUS crucified: not 
 that impassive Oeupia to which philosophers hoped to attain through 
 yv&ffis. 
 
 2 Rev. i. 5. (R.V.). By adopting the reading \6a-avTi, the Revisers have 
 introduced here the idea of CHRIST'S atonement being our absolution. 
 Some will regret the disappearance of more familiar words : " Unto 
 Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own Blood," etc. 
 But if Xwracn is to stand, we have an equally important doctrine stated.
 
 vi Preface. 
 
 retirement of a very quiet life, may be thought to have missed 
 the more promising signs of a progress in which the best and 
 bravest of one's contemporaries are strongly interested. In 
 that case, I would suggest that the first chapter (of which the 
 drift is plainly intimated by the opening sentence) may con- 
 veniently be omitted without injury to what comes after. The 
 most useful chapters will be the practical ones, as the ninth, 
 tenth, and eleventh. On matters ethical and social, or even 
 spiritual and ascetic, a long pastoral experience may entitle one 
 to a hearing ; whereas whenever a question has to be decided 
 by historical research, I must simply bow to higher authority 
 jurans in verba magistri. Then, the repetition of facts for the 
 most part well-known, or opinions long ago established, will, I 
 fear, be found tedious, though there seemed no way to avoid it. 
 
 The chapters are loosely strung together ; the intention 
 being that each should, as far as possible, have a separate 
 consistency of its own. 1 
 
 The book is not offered as a collection of authorities for 
 Confession, nor to attack any methods of Conversion that are 
 Christian. If controversial at all, it is aimed at those who 
 refuse repentance in any shape. The author hopes that very 
 much of what it contains will be acceptable to Evangelicals, 
 and to those (of whatever school) who know far better than 
 himself, what are the yearnings of devout souls after GOD, and 
 the righteousness which is by faith. 
 
 I consider that " the wisdom of the Church of England " is 
 nowhere more conspicuous than in the sober but firm line which 
 the Prayer Book takes on penitence ; and this in spite of some 
 obscurity of language. 
 
 There are, however, many sincere Christians who have never 
 felt the need of being loosed from the bondage of evil habits. 
 By them, the daily Absolutions of the Prayer Book are received 
 as benedictions, or reassuring tokens from an all-merciful 
 FATHER, whom they love, and whose love towards themselves 
 they could not bear to lose. But the following pages have been 
 written by one whose work had been among the fallen or 
 
 1 I venture to recommend a brief study of the Contents, before 
 beginning the book.
 
 Preface. vii 
 
 ignorant ; and its motive will be found in the sixth chapter of 
 the Epistle to the Romans. And he is convinced that a certain 
 plainness of speech is essential, yes ! and a fearlessness of 
 practice agreeable to the words spoken, if the Church is to 
 continue her Christmas greeting of " peace and goodwill " to 
 all to all who are objects of the Divine goodwill in CHRIST 
 JESUS our Saviour. 
 
 I have followed the fashion by quoting generally from the 
 Revised Version ; although I think that for a book like this, 
 mainly practical and hortatory, the best language is whatever is 
 most familiar : on which account I should have myself preferred 
 " the Bible as appointed to be read in churches."
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER I. SIN AND REPENTANCE: THE AVERSION OF THE 
 
 VIRTUOUS - - i 
 
 Modern unconsciousness of sin Silence of society with regard 
 to sin Smoothness of modern existence Optimistic tranquility of 
 conscience Reticence even with inward earnestness Study of the 
 Bible confined to its literature Theology superseded by speculative 
 philosophy Preaching to amuse, not convert Secularity of modern 
 parochial work Reform that is not Christian Disappointment of 
 efforts is more bitter, when the shield of faith is lacking Other 
 ventures in reform, professedly Christian, but without the note of 
 penitence Enthusiasm for CHRIST'S person as the noblest type of 
 humanity Desire to be associated with CHRIST in practical benevo- 
 lence Preconceptions of goodness, apart from the Cross Our 
 LORD opposed to the common human standards CHRIST either 
 takes away sins or judges them He is separate from sinners 
 Penitential teaching however is supposed to be obsolete The 
 Sacred Passion taken for a mere example of unselfishness But 
 CHRIST Himself declared His life a ransom for many The joy of 
 the penitent Good tidings of forgiveness cause great joy of heart 
 The highest good is attainable through repentance Sunshine of 
 GOD'S love Weakness which is strong Poverty which makes 
 many rich The sinner's weak love cries for mercy to the love which 
 is eternal and Divine. 
 
 CHAPTER II. CAUSES OF DIVIDED FEELING WITHIN THE 
 
 CHURCH - 28 
 
 The argument from disappointment will not be widely convincing 
 Loyal churchmen of whatever school, consider sin in its just and merciful 
 relation to CHRIST crucified Yet some who hold the remission of sins 
 have a distaste for the Church's system of penitence They think a 
 priest's intervention either superfluous, or derogatory to GOD'S free mercy 
 in CHRIST Jealousies of Papal assumption have indeed ceased to be 
 felt Hostility of sects is met by loyalty to the Prayer Book Enormous 
 wealth of the rich is not used generally against pastoral influence But 
 "good Low-churchmen" are averse to sacramental penitence Language 
 of Prayer Book sometimes obscure Priests accused of disturbing peace 
 of families "A barrier between the soul and its Saviour" Such 
 objections to be met with respectful sympathy Direct personal inter- 
 course with GOD most essential Yet Evangelicals are wrong in reject- 
 ing fxenitentia Repentance not to be hurried over To do so may suit 
 the pride of the Anglo-Saxon race, but not the private need of humble 
 and contrite souls All earnest Christians should make a common stand 
 against the prevailing indifference Let their ground of agreement be 
 the Holy Scriptures.
 
 x Contents. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER III. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PENITENCE, BEFORE AND 
 
 AFTER CHRIST 44 
 
 Preliminary Note, on the scope of the chapter. 
 
 Men have ever been moved by conscience to sorrow for wrong-doing 
 Greater or less, according to their apprehension of GOD ; but such 
 sorrow is in some degree common to all men, simple or learned With 
 this was joined the fear of sin's punishment by death Still, hope 
 remained in GOD, who ' ' hated nothing that He had made " Resort to 
 sacrifice, the vicarious offering of life for life GOD'S wrath appeased, 
 and length of days granted to those who thus sought His favour As 
 education advanced, sacrifices of brute beasts failed to satisfy man's moral 
 cravings Nor could the voluntary self-immolation of a hero avail, while 
 the motive of contrition was absent Nor contrite prayer itself avail to 
 undo the past The soul's yearnings satisfied at last through the sacrifice 
 of CHRIST "Goo can die for GOD, and for that which He loves 
 Our LORD'S penitence vicarious rather than personal Redemption 
 through His Blood leads the Christian on to new life in Him Pro- 
 pitiatory side to the sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist This however is 
 chiefly the Feast of our reconciliation, and our sacrificium laudis Its 
 jubilant tone requires previous exercises of penitence, necessary now as 
 from the beginning The HOLY SPIRIT, given to us as members of the 
 risen CHRIST, enables us to search and try our hearts. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. THE DUTY OF CONFESSION, FROM HOLY 
 
 SCRIPTURE - 64 
 
 First-formed notions of repentance postulate only conviction of sin 
 and amendment But outward proof of sincerity is required by the 
 community also, outward expression of sorrow before GOD also, 
 plain language in owning faults, for one's own sake, and for truth and 
 honesty For these reasons, confession is most important In the Old 
 Testament, confession is a public acknowledgment of good or evil 
 confcssio aut laudantis aut patnitentis but always open and audible 
 practised by the Jewish Church under the Law of Moses, though the 
 instances are not many continued up to and in the national crisis at 
 the mission of the Forerunner Most confessions were made for the 
 people by a priest or prophet, yet sometimes by individuals for them- 
 selves, with remarkable sorrow and humbling of self Reparation to the 
 community by confession was approved by our LORD In the New 
 Testament, public confession is sanctioned by S. Paul, S. James, and 
 S. John no offence in this, while Christians' intercourse was simple 
 and unconstrained however, not often mentioned while the Pentecostal 
 joy was fresh Public confession the instinct of a youthful people with 
 better civil government, would be less frequenting of the Church's 
 forum publicity not essential to confession The private or auricular 
 method has three advantages, in (i) its connection with absolution, (2) its 
 usefulness in facilitating truth of speech, (3) the opportunities it affords 
 for ghostly counsel and advice. 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTERS V. AND VI. ON THE PRIMITIVE 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL METHODS OF REPENTANCE - - 81 
 
 Primitive penance is not a subject of primary importance to missionary 
 clergy yet the chief landmarks should be briefly noted also the large 
 resemblance between ancient rules and those of the Prayer Book Facts 
 of early Church history are interpreted differently by Protestants and 
 Roman Catholics Practice of the English Church should be conformed,
 
 Contents. xi 
 
 as its authorised language is already, to principles laid down by great 
 Fathers Neither the medieval period, nor that since the Reformation, 
 are included in this survey ; but there is no doubt that sacramental 
 confession has been practised in the English Church throughout the 
 centuries. 
 
 CHAPTER V. HEARERS OF CONFESSIONS, AND SPIRITUAL GUIDES - 88 
 
 Not much is known about confessions, or those who heard them, 
 during the first two centuries When records become more explicit, 
 they give prominence to ecclesiastical punishments at first, three crying 
 sins were excluded from discipline, as beyond the Church's power to 
 correct these were reckoned public scandals, besides the offence to 
 GOD but by degrees these were admitted to exomologesis, and included 
 among mortal sins remissible through public penance the hearers were 
 then the faithful assembled before long, increasing gentleness allowed 
 substitution of private confession, except for notorious crimes cor- 
 responding to this, increased diligence in self-examination intellectual 
 sins as well as sensual Early mention of private confessors, by 
 Sozomen and Origen qualifications of such, from S. Basil and S. 
 Ambrose seal of confession already observed We hear also of pious 
 people seeking ghostly advice without confession for daily faults, the 
 Fathers enjoin use of LORD'S Prayer with almsgiving Here our modern 
 use differs, confession being much resorted to for venial sins reasons 
 why this may be best at the present time, owing to special difficulties in 
 our modern life, as pressure of infidelity, and mischief arising from the 
 opposite extremes of idleness and of over-work With an artificial 
 existence dangers are multiplied the parish priest is generally the best 
 adviser, and the most accessible. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. PRIMITIVE PENITENCE FOR GREATER OR DEADLY 
 
 SINS - . - in 
 
 If confession had been useful merely as a means to obtain direction, 
 the offence caused by sin to GOD would have been forgotten Confession 
 is made to GOD, and its right end is absolution, bestowed in His Name 
 Such absolution is now often sought for sins which could not be 
 classed as deadly, though the instructed conscience pronounces them 
 grave Yet the injunction in our Prayer Book to confess, either before 
 Holy Communion or the last great account, is only concerned with 
 "weighty matters" This is the old Patristic distinction between mortal 
 and venial the former were regarded with fear, according to the high 
 value then placed on baptismal grace, from which the soul by such dis- 
 obedience had fallen the Primitive Church was hardly induced to abate 
 its harsh treatment of the lapsed and though private confession became 
 the rule, and was followed, as some think, by private absolution, the 
 distinction was still carefully marked between venial and mortal in the 
 latter, if pardonable, pardon was conditioned by absolution, either public 
 or private S. Augustine's teaching here If we hesitate to follow the 
 Fathers, what does the Bible say are the consequences of sin ? death to 
 the soul, either immediate or when the sin is "full-grown" hope 
 remains, but GOD'S wrath is heavy, and we have no warrant to treat this 
 matter lightly and if GOD restores penitents, it is well that they should 
 have assurance of pardon, such as the word of absolution conveys such 
 a token of the Divine love may well be called their salvation. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT, on the Sin against the HOLY GHOST.
 
 xii Contents. 
 
 PACK 
 
 CHAPTER VII. BINDING AND LOOSING - - 135 
 
 " Sacraments for the dead" after mortal sin, grace forfeited must 
 be recovered what is absolution ? bondage and imprisonment are the 
 portion of souls that yield to Satan JESUS CHRIST looses those whom 
 Satan holds our freedom in CHRIST depends on His power to absolve 
 
 this power is exercised not on the righteous but on sinners needing 
 repentance their wills must consent : if they will not have this loosing, 
 He "binds" them, that is, leaves them in a self-chosen bondage A 
 human ministry of absolution would follow from the compassion of our 
 LORD but is better proved by quoting the well-known passages, in 
 S. Matt. xvi. and xviii. , and S. John xx. the power of the keys was 
 reserved in some sense to S. Peter, but in its ordinary exercise is equiva- 
 lent to that of binding and loosing this was given to all the apostles, 
 and through them to the Christian priesthood The charge to remit or 
 retain sins it is important to mark the occasion of this charge being 
 given ; by which the effect of absolution was made to depend on our 
 LORD'S resurrection The charge could not refer to baptism, which is 
 not so essentially a ministerial function as absolution, and was not 
 instituted till later Later than absolution, probably, because the pur- 
 pose of its institution coincided with the founding of the Church ; whereas 
 absolution was the quickening of the dead through CHRIST'S rising 
 Still, absolution is not so great as baptism but it is the quickening of 
 souls that have lost the life of grace, and should be received thankfully 
 and earnestly The authority of CHRIST'S minister is plainly declared 
 by the passages already quoted. 
 
 (Two Postscripts follow, and an Appendix of passages quoted from 
 the sixth Book of Hooker, and from Jeremy Taylor. ) 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED - 159 
 
 An inevitable task, which the author would have avoided if he could 
 
 Some opponents are moved by contempt for the spiritual pretensions 
 of the clergy : these need not detain us long, yet we must rid our minds 
 of prejudice It is urged that the apostles never asserted, nor used, the 
 power of remitting and retaining sins Our LORD'S commission would 
 stand, even then But (if we grant that the instance in I Cor. v. and 
 2 Cor. ii. is a little doubtful), the apostles' silence, even though absolute, 
 could only be taken in the same way as their silence about all sacramental 
 details To administer sacraments, or to teach sacramental doctrine, was 
 not their principal concern as apostles Next we hear that absolution is 
 the business not of the priest, but of the whole Church Quite true, that 
 the whole Body is concerned in beseeching GOD, and no member can 
 work apart from the corporate energy But not true, that there are no 
 spiritual functions reserved to the clergy only the Fathers are unanimous 
 here, and the words of S. John xx. 22, 23, convey a distinct commission 
 to the apostles and their successors A third sort of objectors allow 
 absolution by the clergy only, but deny any effectual sacramental loosing 
 from sins either solverc est docere (by preaching), or else the priest's 
 part is merely to console persons troubled in mind Both of these 
 objections are met by careful consideration of the text in S. John. 
 (Bishop Andrewes is quoted here. ) 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VIII. ON THE PENITENTIAL TEACHING 
 
 OF S. CHRYSOSTOM - 181 
 
 S. Chrysostom is sometimes quoted against sacramental confession 
 The immense admiration with which Evangelicals justly regard him does
 
 Contents. xiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 not warrant them in carrying him off to their camp Both on the Com- 
 munion of Saints and the Holy Eucharist, his position is Catholic, not 
 Protestant and it is the same with his teaching on Penitence He 
 deprecates public confession before an unfeeling crowd, and invites 
 penitents to speak only to GOD also he seldom alludes to confession 
 before the priest as minister of absolution But the absolver was usually 
 then a different person from the confessor, also S. Chrysostom's per- 
 sonal gifts were particularly for preaching lastly, several passages are 
 quoted which prove him to have been in full accord with other great 
 Fathers, in declaring that the priest has power to absolve, and to heal the 
 wounds revealed to him by confession Other Fathers are quoted to the 
 same purpose. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. THE PREPARATION OF THE PENITENT - - 189 
 
 The risk of forfeiting grace through unworthy reception requires not 
 that one should neglect the sacrament, but use diligence in preparation 
 by contrition, confession, and satisfaction, or promised amendment 
 Imperfect sorrow is not rejected, if it leads a soul on towards sorrow for 
 the love of GOD there must be an act of the will, hating and renouncing 
 sin the memory and understanding are also exercised, in self-examina- 
 tion Contrition alone would be sufficient, but so careless are we, that 
 confession must be added confessions without being discursive, should 
 furnish information, but never against others only the greater faults 
 must be mentioned, but we seldom judge with discernment where our own 
 are in question thus many advise that confessions should be as full as 
 possible the Church of England makes no rule as to this, nor as to 
 frequency of confession distinctions between wilful transgressions and 
 sins of infirmity ought not to be ignored Satisfaction remains : an 
 integral not essential part of the soul's turning satisfaction is to a great 
 extent involuntary, due to a law of natural, or even physical, retribution 
 Zacchreus was an instance of adding voluntary satisfaction to the other 
 Punishments cannot be made really equivalent to sins, yet there should 
 be a correspondence intended, as in ancient Canons of discipline If we 
 insist that our punishment should be self-chosen, we may err either 
 through softness or excessive rigour Concluding statement in vindication 
 of use of the term satisfaction. 
 
 CHAPTER X. THE PREPARATION OF THE MINISTER - 209 
 
 A priest's ruling of individual consciences must be within limits too 
 much direction commonly ends in laxness penitents bargain for a 
 lighter cross, and the priest approves or condones The doctrine of 
 indulgences has indeed a good side, since full penalties cannot be exacted 
 without cruelty transference of obligation too is right, if it means that 
 "the strong should bear the infirmities of the weak" but these doc- 
 trines are too much associated with an extension of priestly power, to 
 which the English Church has not consented The best rule is "Work 
 out your own salvation " but in the first stage of amendment of life it 
 is imperative that the confessor should be ready with counsel to " support 
 the weak " His preparation must be very serious and earnest, lest he 
 judge amiss yet he judges only of the penitents' sincerity and he has 
 recourse to the gift of the HOLY GHOST a study of casuistry, though 
 practised by eminent saints, is probably not indispensable to success 
 but nothing can be done by a priest without both examination of his own 
 inner state, and meditation Confessors learn to hate sin, as they realise 
 the enduring force of wicked habits to compassionate the tempted to 
 give thanks for souls set free Regulations as to age and qualifications
 
 xiv Contents. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 of confessors ; too little of these in our own Church Celibates to be 
 preferred to married clergy The blameless lives of English clergy. 
 
 (A Supplement follows, on removal of prejudices, and employment of 
 agencies extraordinary.) 
 
 CHAPTER XI. IN THE MISSION FIELD . - 230 
 
 "Make disciples " in S. Matthew is "Preach repentance " in S. Luke 
 CHRIST sent His apostles to save the nations from their sins the 
 preaching of the Gospel throughout the world dates from S. Peter's own 
 conversion, and S. Paul's Always, the Gospel spreads where the need 
 of repentance is felt so in Africa more than in India yet catechumens 
 are not easily moved to forego heathen custums the vow of renunciation 
 at baptism means much to an African still, after baptism, persecution 
 and corrupt example are great hindrances no perseverance at first 
 but the neophyte accepts punishment from the Church, and would perhaps 
 endure the primitive penance confession, however, is much more 
 salutary than excommunication alone confession should be made almost 
 compulsory for natives who have apostatised there is no other way 
 great care is required to inculcate holy fear, else confession itself will be 
 useless but one should speak encouragingly, for evil looks stronger to 
 them than good the affections must be enlisted how far is emotional 
 religion wholesome ? 
 
 CHAPTER XII. RELATION OF PENITENCE TO THE TWO SACRA- 
 MENTS OF THE GOSPEL. DURATION OF THE PENITENT 
 CONDITION - - 239 
 
 Penitence is for the recovery of justifying grace therefore its place 
 is after baptism, and might be also subsequent to confirmation, if that 
 were viewed as the completion of baptism should it be before, or after, 
 the first communion ? Infant communion was prevalent at one time, 
 though not for long in the Western Church adult catechumens were 
 also admitted to first communion on the same day that they were baptised 
 and confirmed now, however, we have for most children a long interval 
 between baptism and confirmation they are capable therefore of moral 
 conduct, and may sin, while neither yet confirmed nor communicants 
 hence the custom of a first confession before the farther steps parents 
 however should be consulted as to this then, the young penitent is not 
 merely restored to the baptismal condition, but must prepare for the 
 fuller grace which he now requires his first confession is like the 
 sanctification of worshippers before the Passover he must come to his 
 communion "holy and clean," and full of hope In later years, the 
 burden of recurring temptations is felt, and elder Christians still desire 
 the benefit of absolution before communion so too before the last com- 
 munion of the dying last of all comes the hallowed oil some 
 uncertainty as to what sins are then forgiven but the Church's intention 
 is to continue her loving offices to the very end Little can be said as to 
 penitence after death the Te Deum is most appropriate to the holy 
 dead. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. CONVERSION - 258 
 
 The inward change of conversion not undesirable for healthy minds, as 
 some pretend it is the soul's turning to GOD, who attracts but does not 
 compel any to love Him children are capable of conversion, but then 
 they must have learned to know GOD, like Samuel at whatever age, the 
 soul's response must be simple, humble, and loving Turning need not
 
 Contents. xv 
 
 PAGE 
 
 be returning instances of youthful piety but the graver conversions, 
 after years spent in sin, are accepted also The converted give them- 
 selves definitely to love and work for GOD from strength to strength 
 not always steadfast, yet not often suffering any grievous lapse having 
 no assurance of final salvation, yet less and less able to forego their 
 settled hope The difference between S. Bernard and Luther was, that 
 while both believed that CHRIST'S righteousness is imputed to those who 
 have faith, Luther taught that sin remains, though covered : S. Bernard, 
 that it may be conquered and destroyed Calvin limited conversion to 
 persons specially called of GOD, and predestined unto life, making it 
 nearly a mechanical process The self-surrender of the truly converted 
 is larger and better even than contrition but piety needs the rules of 
 penitence to keep it within bounds. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. CHRISTIAN PERFECTION - - 276 
 
 By conversion the soul begins to ascend its proper term is per- 
 fection either corporate or individual the latter has never been 
 attained, save by the holy Mother of GOD the angel of death does not 
 find us simply " resting from our labours," having no more that we could 
 do but each Christian can " walk in love, as CHRIST also loved him " 
 
 the advance must be slow "let us be borne on towards perfection " 
 
 Wesley wished to hasten the process, lest Christians should lose heart 
 he understood the word, however, in an inferior sense yet GOD'S power 
 is being perfected, though in our weakness we have to carry on our 
 conflict with familiar temptations, trusting to the sufficiency of Divine 
 grace pugnare et vinccre we cannot reckon progress, or count 
 marches but special Providences we may and ought to notice to 
 some extent there is uniformity in GOD'S methods first, the via purgu- 
 tiva for a long distance, perhaps to the end of one's earthly trial 
 beginning later, the life of unworldliness, in which is no fierce temptation, 
 yet constant vigilance is needful often GOD relieves the pressure by 
 offering a new vocation delight of being honoured by such calls the 
 conviction that our heavenly FATHER trusts us but best of all means to 
 perfection is the Holy Communion which unites us to CHRIST among 
 lesser aids, not least is the school of suffering perfection is not for 
 listless dreamers but for those only who " fight the good fight of the 
 faith, and lay hold on the life eternal." 
 
 CHAPTER XV. THE LAST JUDGMENT. (A Meditation in con- 
 clusion) - 296 
 
 The last and crowning motive to repentance is the expectation of 
 Judgment to come CHRIST'S promised return to judge was deeply 
 impressed on the apostles at first the hope was that He would come 
 soon, and reign on the earth a thousand years As Christians began to 
 see that His advent would be delayed, their attention turned to the inter- 
 mediate state, and to the particular judgment on each soul as it quits the 
 body those subjects are interesting at the present day still the great 
 thought is, as it was to the apostles, that all must rise again with their 
 bodies, and give account to their only LORD for their own works 
 though the last Day be not imminent, that must be the consummation at 
 the end CHRIST'S rights over His redeemed require that he should 
 Himself judge them for service rendered or withheld at their will also, 
 since we are many members in one body in Him, justice demands that we 
 should answer for our conduct towards our brethren and fellow-members 
 these points may be considered apart from the duration of the world,
 
 xvi Contents. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 or of our own lives in our Judge, we shall see and know " Him that is 
 true " all that was contrary to Him will be convicted of falsehood 
 our whole human nature is to be presented, for CHRIST took flesh of man 
 by His Incarnation, not soul only the assembling of all mankind 
 (especially of His whole Church) implies that we shall also know one 
 another, and the full extent of the obligation of mutual charity new 
 faculties will be granted, for apprehending CHRIST, and the members of 
 CHRIST, and the witness of our own hearts yet no true penitent need fear 
 that his own present judgment of self will be reversed, which he has 
 formed under guidance of the HOLY SPIRIT there are the same gifts, of 
 wisdom, and counsel, and holy fear, available now as then only we 
 should learn greater diligence and strictness, in view of this award, final 
 and absolute, to be made by the Eternal Judge of quick and dead but 
 though the Son of Man will judge us by His life, He requires us not to 
 keep pace with Him, but only to follow His steps and to the penitent 
 His promise is that " he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." 
 
 CONCLUSION - - - 317
 
 'Cbe dse of penitence* 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Sin and Repentance : the Aversion of the Virtuous. 
 
 To one desiring to write on the Christian duty of repentance, 
 the way seems blocked by an apparent wide-spread unconscious- 
 ness of sin. Unconsciousness is probably the right word, rather 
 than unbelief. Positive denial of sin is rare, as resolute atheism 
 is rare also ; but one feels that in most modern society the 
 subject is remote and unapproachable. Causes and effects are 
 considered without reference to a ghostly enemy, once known 
 as prince of this world. Men make their plans hoping or 
 fearing, as the case may be, but with little steadying of aims by 
 reflection on a Divine intervention, a Divine protection, or a 
 Divine judgment. And when they are passing away from this 
 earth, though life may not have been to them precisely a pleasant 
 promenade, 1 we seldom find them afflicted by the thought of an 
 adverse balance to be redressed hereafter. They are not 
 anxious about guilt incurred through disowning the ever-blessed 
 Trinity, letting alone the Incarnation, or ignoring the spiritual 
 claims of their fellow-men, souls to be saved with their own. 
 
 It is easy to be unfair to new ideas. One ought not to say 
 that the moral atmosphere is charged with a deadly indifference. 
 What is seldom spoken of is not, therefore, of necessity quite 
 forgotten. And yet society cannot complain if inferences are 
 drawn from its obvious silence. What would appear is either 
 
 1 M. Ernest Renan is said to have boasted that life had been to him 
 " une ties jolie promenade." 
 
 I B
 
 2 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 that people consider the distribution of right and wrong in this 
 world as unalterable, and so regrets are useless ; or else actually 
 persuade themselves that " life has lost its shadows," and that 
 the modern world is a good world. These two views are not 
 violently opposed. The man who thinks of certain individuals 
 or classes outside his path, that they were born bad, and must 
 end as they began, is not seldom an optimist in whatever 
 more nearly concerns himself. And that apparent optimism 
 is what makes the difficulty when repentance is to be one's 
 theme. 
 
 One undeniable note of modern existence is its smoothness. 
 If " the fierceness of man " has not been " turned to the praise " 
 of his Maker, it has been subdued to a very great extent by the 
 irresistible charm of gentle and genial intercourse. Boys go to 
 school and have none of the old battles to fight ; delicate 
 women travel safely where once an armed knight would scarcely 
 have ventured ; war itself is conducted with courtesy between 
 belligerents ; while, in time of peace, the reciprocal obligations 
 of commerce which unite nations are almost bonds of friend- 
 ship. Perhaps it may be said that our home-life is more 
 disturbed, its quiet less permanent, than of old ; but even 
 if affection be in part diverted from the most natural channels, 
 we have compensation for this in another more extensive 
 brotherhood. Goodwill is everywhere the rule. Congratula- 
 tions for the prosperous are not more unfailing than the ready 
 sympathy which relieves the afflicted. Indeed it would be 
 scarcely possible to overstate the easiness, the graciousness, 
 the almost unmixed pleasantness, of our best social intercourse. 
 We dwell, as it were, habitually under the rainbow, and forget 
 the storm-clouds. People everywhere seem so good and 
 kind, that one would think " the crooked " had been " made 
 straight " throughout the world we live in, and " the rough 
 places plain." 
 
 Then, one may naturally ask, has not this external smooth- 
 ness a counterpart in the inward spiritual condition of a 
 Christian ? Surely, the secret of all must be, that human 
 nature has been brought under the control of better principles, 
 which have gained ground steadily, till the old temptations are
 
 Sin and Repentance : the A version of the Virtuous. 3 
 
 felt no longer. Persons who do not share this confidence may 
 have reasons enough to show for their scepticism ; certainly, all 
 do not believe in the universal flood-tide of improvement. But 
 all must allow that it is at least plausible to infer inward 
 tranquility from outward security. When a man is manifestly 
 at peace with his neighbours, the probability is that he is at 
 peace with himself. 
 
 The usual arguments against self-deceit will scarcely hold 
 here. A man may, of course, blind himself to very wicked 
 conduct of his own, either through the force of example in a 
 great majority of those whom he knows, or by some passionate 
 revolt that his own heart makes against censure, destroying for 
 the moment his prudence and sense of proportion. So, too, as 
 is well known, luxurious persons, and those addicted to impure 
 living, lose capacity for discernment, and become like men 
 " past feeling." Others, again, in whom the fever of ambition 
 burns, must on that account deny themselves leisure to give 
 way to moral misgivings. Quo me cunque rapit tenipestas 
 deferor. They have " committed themselves unto the sea," 
 and are borne along by its waves. But there is no novelty in 
 those conditions. The problem for us is of a different kind. 
 Why are so many good, honest, well-disciplined Christians 
 satisfied with what they find to be the spirit of the age ? 
 Or those who are not satisfied who do their utmost to make 
 the world better, at the risk of making it much less pleasant 
 for themselves how is it that even they are determined to 
 hear nothing about sin and repentance ? One could under- 
 stand how indolent habits might be self-justified through 
 unconsciousness of moral danger ; but surely it is strange that 
 active workers in a good cause should retain that tranquil 
 optimism. Strange that they should put forth such glorious 
 energies on behalf of others, and yet be so unwilling to 
 recognise the presence of evil in themselves. 1 One is staggered 
 by the contrast between this and what was, once. We think 
 
 1 Compare R. W. Church (Human Life and its Conditions, p. 58) : 
 " There is no more pathetic sight, than to see a great mind, a great 
 soul, . . . doing good to mankind, advancing the cause of knowledge, 
 of justice, of humanity, and yet itself negligent of its own moral health ; 
 honestly pressing on others the lesson it will not learn."
 
 4 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 of S. Paul, showing light to the Gentiles, yet owning himself 
 less than the least of all saints : we remember the spirit of self- 
 abasement, which prompted so many works of piety or of 
 mercy, since the first Pentecost. What has brought about so 
 great a change since then ? It is little to say that we are far 
 from the mighty thunderings of Sinai, and "the voice that 
 shook the earth." Go back even fifty years ; and in the leaders 
 of religion who then began to restore waste places in England's 
 Church, you will find more sorrow than gaiety much more of 
 fear and trembling than of self-confidence. But no one can 
 wonder that the Tractarian literature has now so generally 
 ceased to be popular. For we have passed away entirely from 
 that sad and serious attitude of theirs. It would be impossible 
 for us to feel like the author of The Christian Year : even less 
 possible to sound an alarm like the Lyra Apostolica. 
 
 I do not know that much would be gained by attempting 
 to carry the contrast farther. This smooth unconsciousness 
 may be after all and this was implied more or less when we 
 began rather apparent than real. We are quite sure that 
 there is still a remnant of earnest souls who think seriously 
 about sin, and humble themselves before GOD as their fathers 
 did in past ages. Partly because they see the misery that 
 sin is causing ; the jealousies, disappointments, heart-burnings ; 
 the downfall of houses through detection of gigantic frauds ; 
 the cruel heartlessness of secret vice towards its victims ; the 
 awful defiance of GOD that lurks under civilised unbelief. And 
 partly because their own conscience is awake, and their heart 
 tender ; and so when memory opens its pages to their view, 
 though no human ear listen to their cry, they do, still, evening 
 by evening, " arise and go to their Father ; " self-accusing, 
 owning themselves sinners in His sight. 
 
 Many such there may be : nay, it is certain that there are. 
 But they do not show themselves. No angel from GOD " sets 
 a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry " 
 for all the evil that is done in their day. And so, while their 
 earnest thoughts about sin are thus hidden from observation, the 
 actual hindrance to preaching repentance is what it was stated 
 to be above. Everything combines to make the common
 
 Sin and Repentance : the A version of the Virtuous. 5 
 
 reticence on this subject act as a barrier. It might be other- 
 wise, if the prevailing tone of society were more ostensibly 
 irreligious, in every other respect. Then, the horror caused by 
 such general profanity might impel one to speak, though only 
 as prophet of the wrath to come. But the fact is not so. 
 Contemporary Christianity is both active in good works, and 
 most willing to talk over its beneficent schemes ; it has also 
 a great respectfulness and propriety of speech on sacred 
 matters. Only it seems to have lost the sense of sin. This may 
 be illustrated in all sorts of ways : 
 
 (1) Take the study of the Bible. Never before were such 
 immense industry and variety of learning expended on the 
 sacred text ; never so little value allowed to the prophets' 
 expectation of the Messiah, or the hope of redemption. Not 
 that higher critics are to be blamed for their literalism : the 
 field of mystical or allegorical interpretation was not for them 
 to enter upon. But it is significant that the higher critics and 
 comparative religionists now seem to content everybody ; and 
 that the chapters most generally neglected are those which 
 show what sin is, and what the Divine mercy in redeeming 
 man the sinner. 
 
 (2) Then take the study of theology. What has been the 
 motive for that revived interest in Christian Platonism, which 
 now attracts so many thinkers ? Surely, the smoothness of the 
 intellectual ascent which it contemplates. The mind of the 
 Christian sage is to be like a sun-lit lake : he is to bask in the 
 beautiful brightness of the knowledge and love of GOD. 1 But 
 where are the sackcloth and ashes ? where the humble cry for 
 
 1 This view of Platonism is most usual (perhaps one should say usual 
 with commonplace thinkers, and practical men). One finds something 
 like it in Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho, chap, ii.) : " The contempla- 
 tion of ideas furnished my mind with wings, so that in a little while I 
 supposed that I had become wise ; and such was my stupidity, I expected 
 forthwith to look upon GOD, for this is the end of Plato's philosophy." 
 S. Justin probably passed through the school too hurriedly to have 
 learned much from it ; but can any speculative system be enough to 
 engross the energies of a Christian, who knows that GOD has sent him 
 into a world " where there is much to be done, and little to be known ? " 
 (Dr. Johnson), Dr. Bussell quotes Carlyle, saying, " The mere existence 
 and necessity of a philosophy is an evil. Man is sent hither not to 
 question, but to work " (School of Plato, p. 15).
 
 6 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 mercy ? where humility ? " Coming to the Stromateis from 
 the Epistle to the Romans" (says a warm admirer of Clement), 1 
 " we are struck with the comparatively small part assigned to 
 the sense of sin, the need of grace, and the virtue of humility." 
 Such things are simply contemptible to a philosopher. Con- 
 tempt is thought to have been the chief motive with Marcus 
 Aurelius, in persecuting the Christians. 2 
 
 (3) Then, the services of the Church. Is it not a constant 
 experience that the truthful Confessions in the Prayer Book 
 offices are in absolute contrast to the euphemism, the almost 
 hedonism, in whatever is spoken from the pulpit ? 
 
 (4) This, too, is suggestive in its way : that instead of the 
 pastor seeking his lost sheep from house to house and praying 
 with them for their conversion, the meeting-point for priest and 
 people is likely to be so very often a concert, or a summer picnic. 
 
 (5) It is true that such church-goers as remain behave well, for 
 the most part, when they are in the house of GOD. And outward 
 reverence is one of the most natural indications of a stricken 
 conscience. One may hope, then, that the bent knees and 
 bowed heads often go with contrite hearts. Yet, can we be 
 sure of the deeper motive ? Is it certain that this outward 
 propriety is more than the indispensable token of good 
 breeding ? as natural, but not more natural, in a sacred 
 building than in a drawing-room ? At any rate, there is not 
 much here to set against the apparent unwillingness to consider 
 sin and its consequences. Perhaps the moral consciousness of 
 most people may not be so faint as it seems ; but, if earnest 
 feelings exist, they are kept well in the background. A man 
 striving to make himself heard on repentance is like one who 
 should push his way into a jealously-guarded fortress. 
 
 One might easily add to these instances ; 3 because, although 
 no doubt there are exceptions everywhere, there is nothing like 
 a whole class of Christian thinkers exempt from the tendency. 
 
 1 See Clement of Alexandria, by Hort and Mayor, p. xliv. 
 
 2 See Ramsay's Church in the Roman Empire, p. 351. Marcus derided 
 the jsiMjv irapdra^ii' of the Christians : see Merivale's History, vol. vii. p. 613. 
 
 3 Sin is often mentioned in the sentimental poetry of the day ; but in 
 a self-pitying tone, and as if the Saviour's part were merely to soothe 
 the grief of His unhappy child, and to make excuses for him.
 
 Sin and Repentance: the Aversion of the Virtuous. 7 
 
 No, nor even the most active social reformers ; hardly even 
 missionaries to the heathen. In how many places the doctrine 
 of the Cross is now on its defence, timid and faltering, before a 
 self-righteous paganism ! How soon the pleading for CHRIST 
 ceases, and the evangelist joins forces with the idolater over 
 some scheme of purely secular improvement ! Or look nearer 
 home, and see the lighter tone now infused into that saddest 
 work of all the recovery of the fallen. One cannot think 
 what it all means, unless there is really no such thing as guilt 
 before GOD, nor provoking Him to wrath by disobedience. 
 
 However, we ought to speak with due respect of the desire 
 to do good, which has been alluded to already, and is very 
 marked at the present time. Perhaps if we try to be just to 
 this at first we shall be led on to perceive in what degree it 
 fails, and must fail ; and so finally shall gain an opportunity to 
 show how the old Gospel cannot be superseded how the 
 doctrine of sin and repentance is still necessary, both for the 
 safety, and for the happiness, of mankind. 
 
 We need not lay much stress on the fact that some most 
 active reformers make no profession of Christianity. Let us 
 not despise them, however. There can be no such thing as 
 living to help others, unless self is controlled, and passions are 
 mortified. That means a hard struggle between the higher and 
 lower natures : between pity, generous feeling, the instinct of 
 serving one's country, and, on the other hand, all the clinging 
 force of self-flattery and self-indulgence. Add to that what 
 is sure to come a good deal of opposition from without, and 
 it must be allowed that the man who still persists in doing 
 good is of a noble spirit. He is not a Christian, and yet he 
 perseveres in spite of conditions the most discouraging : 
 opposed at each step, he yet pushes on till he has secured 
 acceptance for his new science of health, his better schools, his 
 better dwellings, 1 or whatever his scheme may be. One can 
 
 1 One of the healthiest signs is the desire to do away with " poor 
 neighbourhoods," and to get rich and poor once more to dwell side by 
 side. But progress is slow, because the impulse of Catholic charity is 
 lacking, which alone could overbear the resistance from covetousness and 
 vested rights. S. Ambrose reminds the rich that not GOD, but they are 
 unjust, if the sufferings of the poor continue unrelieved. " Nonne ideo te
 
 8 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 hardly refuse him a place among those who " overcome evil 
 with good," redeeming the time. Such men are full of high- 
 minded aims, and it is impossible not to admire a great deal 
 even of what they say. 
 
 And yet their not being Christians is a hindrance to their 
 efforts. Allowing for a strength of perseverance in some of 
 their noblest, which may carry them to ultimate victory, we 
 must surely insist that such characters are exceptional. 
 Granted that opposition is sometimes the means of bringing 
 out the best that a man has, a much more frequent consequence 
 from that is disgust, with loss of enthusiasm, and, by degrees, 
 abandonment of good work begun. How often a man of fifty 
 takes a lower view of human nature, and expects his remainder 
 of life to be barren and empty, whereas in youth he had thought 
 to accomplish very much ! Once an English poet wrote : 
 
 " I know I am one of nature's little kings, 
 I know my life's a pain and but a span, 
 And, to conclude, I know myself a man, 
 Yet to the least and vilest things am thrall. 
 I know my sense is mocked with everything : 
 Which is a proud, and yet a wretched thing." ' 
 
 In short, if one has to treat disappointment apart from that 
 illumination which our Christian faith supplies, there will be 
 enough to break the heart of the most sanguine reformer. 
 And not merely because of the natural limitations of a being 
 circumscribed in time and space. Those could cause no 
 intolerable pain. But the sore grief is to feel that one has 
 been wounded by another's malice, and yet has no power in 
 oneself to cope with it. A noble spirit will try to forget what 
 he suffers, for as long as possible ; but the heavy feeling of 
 discomfiture will prevail at last. Christians, therefore, do not 
 attach the highest importance to non-Christian effort. These 
 men intend to accomplish much ; but they are not " children 
 of the light and of the day," and we cannot wonder if they fail. 
 
 divitem feci, ut excusationem habere non possis ? . . . Numquid tu 
 infirmus eras ? Numquid non poteras subvenire ? " (De Offic. Ministr. 
 lib. i. cap. 1 6). 
 
 1 From an Elizabethan poet, Sir John Davies; quoted in Courthope's 
 History of English Poetry, vol. iii. p. 56.
 
 Sin and Repentance : the A version of the Virtuous. g 
 
 They intend to wage a splendid warfare; but we miss from 
 their armour " the breastplate of faith and love," and " the hope 
 of salvation," which should be their "helmet." The cardinal 
 virtues, perhaps, they may have ; but what are those worth, 
 except as transfigured by infusion of the theological ? z No ; 
 the non-Christian reformer aims high, but not high enough to 
 regenerate society, not high enough to save the world. 
 Disappointment will not always make him idle, but it will 
 effectually drag him down to a lower level of usefulness. The 
 salt will lose its savour. 
 
 To turn, then, to those who are Christians, and whose 
 beneficent purposes are always referred to CHRIST as their 
 one Author and Example ; but who seem, nevertheless, to be 
 under that same law of unconsciousness of sin, to which nearly 
 the whole modern world is subject. We shall have to see that 
 even these are prone to disappointment, and, in very many 
 cases, are vitiated by it when it comes, if not entirely crushed, 
 They, too, feel their step heavy, and their eyesight dim, at 
 those very moments when there is greatest need of a clear 
 judgment and firm resolution. And in this there is nothing 
 wonderful, because, though they think that they are following 
 CHRIST, they are not really " men of the Way." 2 They are 
 not following Him by the one road where fellowship with His 
 life and work is attainable. 
 
 Now this may seem both a difficult thing to prove, and 
 a most ungracious task to have attempted. Ungracious, 
 especially, or worse, it would be to throw doubt on the sincerity 
 of any man's attachment to Him who is the only LORD of us 
 all, unless one were quite convinced that he was offering what 
 CHRIST would never accept. And yet it may be that this is 
 actually the case. Not that the devotion of these persons to 
 our LORD is wrong in itself, but that it lacks the right 
 foundation. Let us try to deal with them fairly, making full 
 allowance for the attraction that many among them feel towards 
 that most holy Name. 
 
 They may be supposed to reason somewhat as follows : 
 
 1 See Dante (Purgat. Cant. xxxi. iii.) : " Le tre di la, che miran piu 
 profondo." 2 Acts ix. 2.
 
 io The Use of Penitence. 
 
 " High hopes and generous aims can be conceived without the 
 guiding star of faith. But, clearly, they agree best with 
 Christianity. 1 ' Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may 
 have eternal life ? ' The eagerness of the question was in 
 proportion to the speaker's consciousness of the adorable 
 presence in which he stood. And we, in England, have by no 
 means lost the habit of looking to JESUS CHRIST as consum- 
 mator of the best desires of the human heart. Of all really 
 unselfish activity on behalf of others, He alone is the author 
 and finisher. We, because we understand this, continue to 
 study His gracious Person with unabated interest. We call to 
 mind His words, His promises ; we represent to ourselves the 
 loving look of His upturned face when He kneels in prayer on 
 our behalf. We almost feel the sway of that strong impulse 
 which moved Him when He said, ' Father, I will that they 
 whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am.' This 
 indeed would have been the same in some measure had the 
 question been merely of that inevitable daily business, in which 
 all industrious and honourable men are engaged. When we 
 were absorbed in any of those toilsome enterprises by which 
 men live and fight out their struggle for existence, we should 
 have been glad to assure ourselves of His protection and 
 sympathy. We should have had more self-respect have felt 
 ourselves more fit to trust and to be trusted, more capable of 
 that honest and courageous dealing which deserves success if 
 we were striving to keep our places in the flock which is led 
 onward by that true Shepherd. But much more, now that we 
 have the unselfish aim of rendering service to our brethren ; 
 because, now, our aim is His aim. ' I have given you a com- 
 mandment, that ye should do as I have done to you. ' ' 
 
 To be associated thus with our Blessed LORD in doing good 
 ought to be, and really is to many excellent persons, a thought 
 unspeakably delightful. There are those who honestly feel 
 that to gain the whole world would be of small account when 
 
 1 Christian faith, says Newman (Lect. on Justice., p. 273), " has con- 
 verted what was grovelling and niggardly into high and generous self- 
 devotion." See the pictures drawn by Apologists of the self-sacrificing 
 kindness of Christians (e.g. Aristid. Apol. xv. ; Epistle to Diognetus, v. ; 
 5. Justin Martyr, Apol. i. 67 ; Athenagoras, Plea for Christians, xi.).
 
 Sin and Repentance : the A version of the Virtuous. 1 1 
 
 compared with the joy of bringing comfort to CHRIST'S little 
 ones. Nor are they apt to admit discouragement very quickly. 
 If opposition could be an incentive to greater exertion where 
 the Christian motive was lacking, how much more when it is 
 present ! ' Opposition it has been said a thousand times is 
 safer for a Christian than the popularity which so often 
 corrupts. Those who are able regularly to give their " cup of 
 cold water " without fear of having it dashed aside by hostile 
 hands, may perhaps take little interest in continuing so slight 
 a boon. But bring them to face antagonism, and the probability 
 is that they will not only give, but give much more than what they 
 began with. Instead of letting the ring close round them they 
 will " spread forth their hands in the midst " of their enemies, 2 
 claiming larger space in which to do GOD'S work. And this, 
 because they have found their " way to escape," in a fellowship 
 with the Man of Sorrows. By realising their discipleship 
 through suffering they heal the wound of their grief, and are 
 at rest. And more : the dear Master is not only their 
 Physician and Protector ; they feel that He both gives them 
 their work, and works with them. Who can be against them 
 when that is so ? " It is CHRIST JESUS that died, yea, rather, 
 that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of 
 GOD, who also maketh intercession for us." 
 
 So, then, for a long while, there is little inclination to " be 
 weary in well-doing." Opposition seldom rises into persecution 
 under the smooth conditions which now prevail. Where it is, 
 nevertheless, serious and stubborn, its first effect upon anyone 
 who professes himself a Christian is actually to add zest to the 
 service he renders ; (and this, although he may be much 
 mistaken in what he conceives his relation to CHRIST to be). 
 His hope is not "in this life only;" his goal is not to be 
 sought for among things temporal ; death is no longer to him 
 the ultima Lima rerum, but a gate through which hope passes 
 readily. If beset by ingratitude and wrong, of which the taste 
 must at times be bitter, he sets his face towards an irreversible 
 
 1 To S. Paul, ff-rtvoxupiai were occasions of revival of energy. " Our 
 mouth is open, our heart is enlarged." (See Rom. viii. 35 ; 2 Cor. vi. 4, 
 xii. 10). * Isaiah xxvi. n.
 
 12 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 righteous judgment, to which all will be subjected when the 
 supreme Arbiter shall appear. Or, even without soreness of 
 spirit, yet as but half satisfied with the best results attainable 
 here below, he takes pleasure in expecting something far 
 better than that best a summum bonum* to be revealed 
 hereafter. But all the time he is working towards the 
 consummation. He is quite content without much visible 
 fruit, being assured that the servant is following the Master, 
 and that the Master's harvest must come at last Hopes that 
 had been growing pale shine out again at that prospect. The 
 soul finds its " anchor both sure and steadfast." 2 Such men 
 can bow their heads calmly to disappointment ; nay, if it be 
 GOD'S will, they can surrender gladly to the arrest of an 
 early death. 3 
 
 One has tried to be just to these excellent persons, though 
 suspecting them of a presumption which will be presently 
 exposed. Let us now, first, observe that their ideas are almost 
 wholly Christian. They want to work for CHRIST, and to have 
 success under His leadership only. Possibly, indeed, this may 
 be more than they, or any of the best whom the Church 
 contains, intend at all times ; but let us give them credit for 
 the utmost that is consistent with their position. Then we shall 
 see that, whatever happens in the career that they have chosen, 
 their ideas fall short of the real " truth that is in JESUS." 
 Their foundation of effort is not laid in a humble acknowledg- 
 ment of personal unfitness. They do not know what their 
 need is of CHRIST as Saviour. And to show this will be 
 enough for our purpose in these chapters, which is, not to stay 
 at visible results success or failure but to exhibit the true 
 Christian doctrine of sin, and the necessary outlines of 
 Christian repentance. 
 
 1 On the Summum Bonum, see S. Aug. (De Mor. Eccles. lib. i.). 
 
 2 Hope is the anchor ; yet always hope in the Crucified. Compare 
 Donne's gift to George Herbert of " one of my seals of the anchor and 
 CHRIST." He had " caused a number of heliotropian stones to be 
 engraved, and set in gold as seals or rings, with the figure of CHRIST 
 crucified on an anchor." (See Walton's Lives.) 
 
 3 Compare Shakspere (Sonnet Ixxiv.) : 
 
 ..." When that fell arrest, 
 Without all bail, shall carry me away," etc.
 
 Sin and Repentance: the Aversion of the Virtuous. 13 
 
 It is impossible that we can become perfect Christians, 
 " always abounding in the work of the LORD," if we take one 
 side only of our holy religion, and refuse to look at the other. 
 
 No doubt to have fellowship with CHRIST is a Christian's 
 purest joy ; while He is with us no evil-doers can have 
 power to hurt or hinder. But, then, the question is, What 
 does the Name of CHRIST mean to our apprehension ? 
 In what relation does it stand to our life and work from 
 first to last? What would be our intention if we made 
 our petition to Almighty GOD in the form supplied in 
 the Prayer Book : that " in all our works begun, continued, 
 and ended in Him, we may glorify His holy Name ; through 
 JESUS CHRIST our LORD ? " Particularly, is our " beginning 
 in Him " to be understood as coincident with, or previous 
 to any other beginning that could be made by the use of 
 natural faculties ? How do we take such texts as " Apart 
 from Me ye can do nothing ? " or, " Other foundation 
 can no man lay than that which is laid, which is JESUS 
 CHRIST ? " And what do we think is our concern with the 
 notable passage of S. Paul, which follows ? " All have sinned, 
 and fall short of the glory of GOD ; being justified freely by 
 His grace through the redemption that is in CHRIST JESUS : 
 whom GOD set forth to be a propitiation, through faith by His 
 Blood, to show His righteousness, because of the passing over 
 of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of GOD ; for the 
 showing, I say, of His righteousness at this present season : 
 that He might Himself be just, and the justifier of him that 
 hath faith in JESUS." 1 
 
 One may fear that some of the notions formed are not 
 merely inadequate, but inadequate from what one must call 
 wilful misconception. No one denies the existence of a 
 certain enthusiasm for JESUS of Nazareth : scarcely any 
 conscientious person would desire to see it less than it is. 
 Close attention is bestowed on His sacred Humanity, and it 
 would be unfair not to suppose that that sweet pattern is 
 taken home to many hearts to be imitated. But with what 
 sort of imitation ? The fact seems to be that men begin with 
 
 1 Rom. iii. 23-27.
 
 14 The Ust of Penitence. 
 
 preconceptions of what type of goodness is most congenial to 
 the requirements of the modern world, and then endeavour to 
 make JESUS CHRIST conform to these ideas. Thus He becomes 
 a sociable being of our own sort, in whose company the polite 
 and well-mannered may march gaily forward. They say in 
 effect, Let us have Him for our good and careful Shepherd ; 
 let Him bless our little children, go with us to the marriage- 
 feast, lift up the tone of our young men, comfort our weak and 
 afflicted ; above all, send us out to labour in His harvest, 
 promising to rejoice with us when the crop is gathered in. 
 How well it all sounds ! But can we draw a picture like this, 
 and call it complete without wilful perversion of the facts ? 
 
 What has the Name of JESUS really always stood for 
 "the same yesterday, and to-day, and through the ages?" What 
 is the testimony of S. John, or of S. Paul ? Surely, this Name, in 
 which all things in heaven and earth and under the earth must 
 bow, and to which all yield obedience, is never a name for 
 weak man to accommodate to his follies, or to reconcile with 
 the taste and fashion of an hour ? That is no more practicable, 
 really, for an exquisite civilisation like ours, than for the savage 
 who washes his spears in the blood of an enemy. Nay, the 
 love of His compassionate heart has been, from the first, 
 entirely human, but yet, also, " greater than the heavens." So, 
 then, must it remain to the end of time. " Ye are from 
 beneath, I am from above." Between us, in our very best 
 natural development, and JESUS CHRIST, lies a deep gulf of 
 separation. His words, His deeds, were not only more 
 excellent than ours ; they actually condemn us by force of 
 contrast. With much that is done upon earth He does not 
 merely refuse to associate Himself. He comes to destroy it. 
 It is an offence to Him. If not removed and renounced while 
 we live, He will judge us for it at the end of all things. And, 
 again, if we do consent to renounce it and to become His 
 disciples indeed, then, most likely, we shall be " hated of all 
 men, for His Name's sake." A very different thing from 
 opposition to some light-hearted scheme of philanthropy ! 
 
 Our LORD is not only superior to the common human 
 standards ; He is opposed to them. All of us must know
 
 Sin and Repentance : the A version of the Virtuous. 1 5 
 
 this sooner or later. Some day, something that we read of 
 Him in one or other of the Gospels, makes us feel how little 
 we have understood Him. Perhaps it is His severity ; perhaps 
 the luxuriance of His tender pity ; perhaps the unfathomable 
 depth of His sorrow ; perhaps that heavenward bent of His 
 daily walk, which found utterance at last in passionate 
 pleading : " If ye loved Me ye would rejoice, because I go to 
 My FATHER." What was the secret of it all ? 
 
 The secret was, that He had come into a world of sin, 
 being Himself without sin. Thus His love was outraged, and 
 He suffered by a daily martyrdom ; He was a " sign spoken 
 against," a victim of the malice of Satan, and of the cruel 
 wrath of proud and envious men. But, however intense, 
 opposition and persecution did not mean defeat to JESUS 
 CHRIST. His death was a personal triumph, and, far more, it 
 was a propitiation for all our sins. And yet, after His atoning 
 death, as before, He left men free to despise Him if they 
 would, and to lead their lives apart from Him, and to say that 
 they had not sinned. But He did not leave them free to do 
 good without Him. All conflict with evil in future must be a 
 taking up of His Cross, and following Him. All striving after 
 personal amendment must have for its foundation faith in the 
 salvation wrought through His Blood repentance for the sins 
 which caused that Blood to flow. 
 
 Our Blessed LORD'S business with sins can only be either 
 to take them away here, or to judge them hereafter. And if 
 we are to go forward with Him along life's journey, He must 
 first have taken away our sins. Did He ever allow exceptions 
 to this rule ? did He at any time let fall an intimation that in 
 the following centuries a race might be discovered so admirably 
 refined and cultured as to need none of His redemption ? 
 Never, certainly. He said of Himself that He came, simply, 
 " to save the world." And when we hear Him described as a 
 Being " holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners," 
 we, therefore, understand that He is separate from each and 
 all of the human race, unless He has saved them through the 
 merits of His Passion. 
 
 Here is the great difficulty to this present generation.
 
 1 6 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 S. John, indeed, writes can we think that he wrote only for 
 his own day? " If we say that we have not sinned, we make 
 GOD a liar, and His word is not in us." But how loud and 
 vehement, against S. John, are the self-justifying voices that 
 we now hear ! Or listen when they try to speak calmly ; 
 perhaps, somewhat as follows : " We forbear to criticise 
 disrespectfully that penitential language which is still employed 
 by persons commissioned to preach, or holding authority in 
 the Church. That has always had a place in the Bible, and 
 our Prayer Book is full of it. But it cannot consist with 
 modern progress. 1 The first founders of Christianity were 
 trammelled by the old sacrificial system ; but there has been a 
 steady process of emancipation since then, and it is the fact 
 that, now, sin is rarely mentioned among educated people. 
 Modern society does not require to be weighed down by a 
 sense of guilt ; on the contrary, we ought to have at command 
 an inexhaustible fund of cheerfulness. Then we may cope 
 with those unjust and unequal social conditions, and all other 
 miseries, which have come down from our forefathers. 2 But 
 we should never get through our work if we were morbid and 
 downcast." 3 
 
 1 Compare Dean Church (Cathedral Sermons, p. 77) : " We are 
 told that it is time to attend to the real subjects of the day, the 
 calls of justice, the redress of wrongs, the wants and sufferings of the 
 poor." 
 
 2 It would be most unfair not to show grateful appreciation of the 
 sincere pity that is felt for, what Archbishop Alexander has called, " the 
 ceaseless moaning of the sea of human sorrow." Benevolent agencies 
 are innumerable ; though one may fear that most of the deeper sources 
 of wrong remain untouched. 
 
 3 Morbid recollection is wholly distinct from the " mourning " which 
 our Saviour blessed ; of which S. Peter was an example, not only when 
 he " wept bitterly " at first, but when, according to the tradition, in 
 after years, each night's cock-crowing would remind him of his fall. 
 S. Peter was not, therefore, inactive and self-absorbed. Yet these two 
 things are often confused together. Sabatier, in his beautiful study of 
 the conversion of S. Francis, asks us to believe that, if the saint had 
 not quickly forgotten the sinful wildness of his youth, he must have 
 fallen into " un effroyable egoisme" (Vie de S. Fran$. chap, ii.)- When 
 GOD " for our sins is justly displeased," we dare not blind our eyes to 
 His wrath, even though " in His wrath He thinketh upon mercy ; " 
 but this is not to turn our attention from the wants of our afflicted 
 brethren.
 
 Sin and Repentance : the A version of the Virtuous. 1 7 
 
 To which one might reply, that the Gospel, assuredly, 
 requires no man to be low-spirited. 1 The question is, whether 
 we are to dispense with the salvation wrought by JESUS 
 CHRIST, and sever our connection with Him ? 
 
 And one can fancy a modern optimist protesting that that 
 is not what he intends : " There is no reason why we should 
 part company with the true ' Son of Man.' Rather, we hail 
 Him as our leader, trusting to His Incarnation as the starting- 
 point and principle of recovery for all whom He has made His 
 brethren. In that sense, we believe, He has ' brought life and 
 immortality to light through His Gospel.' And we say that 
 He reconciles mankind to GOD, because He delivers from the 
 bondage of bad habits by the illumination of His example. 
 Bad habits unfit men for their higher destiny. In delivering 
 from those, JESUS CHRIST destroys the works of the devil, and 
 becomes ' the Way ' by which we approach the supreme 
 FATHER." 
 
 But what, then, of the Cross ? Is it nothing that CHRIST 
 died for our sins ? 
 
 Again the answer is returned : " He died, as all of us feel 
 and confess, out of tender pity and compassion. His own 
 people, how low they had fallen ! yet they would not come to 
 Him for deliverance. One way alone remained : that He 
 should die for them. By a generous and fearless resolve He 
 gave Himself a willing victim to the most terrible of deaths, 
 letting them slay Him though for their sakes He suffered, thus 
 vindicating the sincerity of His incredible love. That was the 
 most perfect example in all history of a purely unselfish and 
 vicarious bearing of pain. Its moral effect could not be 
 limited to those of His own nation : it has been felt throughout 
 the world, and is felt even now. But in no other sense but 
 this do we understand what has been called CHRIST'S 
 atonement, or propitiation for sin. We do not stand or fall 
 by a particular interpretation, now generally exploded, of the 
 
 1 Among primitive writers, Hermas is strong on this : " Omnis hilaris 
 vir bene operatur, et bona sapit, et contemnit injustitiam. Vir autem 
 tristis male facit, quia tristem facit Spiritual sanctum, qui datus est 
 homini hilari " (Mandat. x. 3). So, too, S. Augustine (De Catech. Rud.), 
 blames the " ariditas mcestitiae." 
 
 c
 
 1 8 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. We cannot lay our burden upon 
 Him instead of manfully bearing it ourselves." 1 
 
 This is what we have to hear. Perhaps S. Peter's thoughts 
 about fellowship with his Master were much the same, before he 
 had learned wisdom by the three denials. But we know, now, 
 that this is only " speaking into the air ; " it is the voice of 
 presumption, the mere vanity of self-confidence. They who 
 turn their backs upon the sacrifice of Calvary do but prove 
 their utter ignorance of the real nature of that sin which the 
 Lamb of GOD came to take away. If we do not lay our 
 burden upon Him we cannot bear it ourselves, and it will 
 crush us. They may talk, in simple honesty, of doing right, 
 or wishing to do it; but they have not learned that in their 
 Saviour's wounds is their only refuge from the just wrath of 
 Almighty GOD. No mere manly endurance of opposition or 
 misfortunes can shelter them from that " overflowing scourge." 
 Therefore, their ideas of reformation, however well meant, are 
 altogether inadequate, and their principles what only ignorance 
 could approve. That vision of a great Leader, and of 
 themselves keeping pace with Him, and sharing His triumphs, 
 must vanish into thin air. Sins have made that fondly 
 imagined fellowship impossible. Sin strikes across the path 
 of upward progress, 2 and forbids access to our sinless LORD. 
 They must learn to confess that JESUS CHRIST is not sociable 
 to such as them, whatever the boasted grace of their modern 
 culture, however sincere their longing to improve everything 
 that they can reach and touch. For there is a record against 
 them a guilt which, if they owned it truly, would become an 
 overclouding sorrow, beglooming the whole prospect. 
 
 What is it which the modern optimism wants or demands ? 
 
 1 Contrast with this S. Ambrose (In S. Luc. lib. vi. 101) : " Videtis 
 quod in uno Christi nomine omnia sint. Ipse est enim Christus qui 
 natus est ex Virgine, ipse est qui mirabilia fecit in populo, ipse qui 
 mortuus est pro peccatis nostris, et resurrexit a mortuis. Unum horum 
 si retraxeris, retraxisti salutem tuam . . . Nemo Christi nomen negat ; 
 sed negat Christum, qui non omnia quae Christi sunt confitetur." 
 
 2 S. Basil (De Bapt. lib. ii. qu. vii.). asks Swar6v tan rbv afj.a.prLq. 
 SovXevorra iroielv 8iKaiwfj.a ; and shows that it is impossible, quoting S. John 
 viii. 34, and S. Matt. vi. 24. Then, to show how this may be made 
 possible after repentance, he quotes 2 Cor. vii. i.
 
 Sin and Repentance: the Aversion of the Virtuous. 19 
 
 That one should expunge a principal part, not only of 
 apostolic doctrine, but of the very words of Him who is the 
 Truth. For how, or from whence, but from His own lips, have 
 we been taught that JESUS came " to give His life a ransom 
 for many ? " While, of apostles, we must now no longer quote 
 S. Paul, declaring " the Name of JESUS to be above every 
 name;" nor, of evangelists, S. Matthew, explaining why that 
 Name was given. JESUS could not have " saved His people 
 from their sins " if there were no sins of ours to threaten 
 destruction. 
 
 Nay, but our own hearts are against a self-complacency, 
 which in this grievous fashion abuses the Gospel message. 
 And " if our heart condemn us, GOD is greater than our heart, 
 and knoweth all things." There is no gainsaying the truth of 
 those words, whoever had written them. The end can only be 
 an awakening of the terrors of conscience, which will be less 
 uneasy for the sins that were hidden, than for the madness of 
 having hidden them so long. " Behold, I will enter into 
 judgment with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned. . . 
 For the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not 
 prosper in them." 1 
 
 With an uneasy conscience there can be no joy in 
 attempting the part of reformer or benefactor. Yet the 
 importance of cheerfulness cannot well be exaggerated. 2 If 
 that was urged from the other side, it was urged sensibly 
 enough. To be heavy-hearted causes a contraction of energy. 
 Before anything else, one must rid himself of that weight. 
 But can modern optimism effect the deliverance ? If not, one 
 may surely think that the time is come to enquire whether the 
 old solution was not, after all, the best and truest. 
 
 S. Luke tells again and again how full of joy were the 
 first Christian evangelists. The beginning of man's recovery 
 through the Gospel was like a great wave of joy overflooding 
 
 1 Jeremiah ii. 35, 37. 
 
 2 Compare 6 AetDc, <* iXa/>6-n?Ti (Rom. xii. 8) ; also a beautiful passage 
 
 Of Clement (Strom, vii.' chap. Vli. 35), irdi/ra rolvvv rbv fiiov fopryv dyovres, 
 TrdvT-r) iravT00fi> Traptlvai rbv Qebv ireTrfiff/j.froi, yewpyovftev alvowres, TrX^o/J-ev 
 v/jLvovvres, Kara ryv tiXXriv TroKtreiav tvQtus d,vaffTpf<f>6/j.e6a.. [We Converse 
 together, and move about as in GOD.]
 
 2O The Use of Penitence. 
 
 the earth : it was a second exodus from Egypt. Now we 
 must remember that those light hearts, that eager happiness, 
 were not due only to the baptism in fire at Pentecost. Before 
 that, our Redeemer had given His peace to the apostles, and 
 showed the wounds of His Passion. When " the disciples 
 were glad " on seeing the LORD, the chief cause was His 
 announcement of pardon, to sinners wherever found, through 
 His Blood so lately shed. That went before the promise of 
 power from on high. And when S. Peter turned to his 
 countrymen, conscious of having a gift to offer that was more 
 than silver and gold, he chose this way to convey it : " Repent, 
 and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." 
 
 Repentance can have no meaning, except to those deeply 
 convinced of sin ; while, on the other hand, from conviction of 
 sin to repentance, the way is so straight and obvious, that few 
 fail to find it : if, that is, they will look up to where their 
 Saviour awaits them, drawing them to Him from His Cross. 
 Too often they keep their eyes averted from Him ; and that 
 is why the primary obstacle was stated to be unconsciousness of 
 sin, and unwillingness to repent. Unconsciousness is a serious 
 obstacle, because the indifference which it produces is mainly 
 among people of good repute, induced in great measure by the 
 quiet, peaceful times which so many now enjoy. These 
 virtuous ones would think it hard to have to descend from their 
 fancied pure air into the Stygian pool which too surely lies 
 beneath ; nor is it every one's business to explore " the depths 
 of Satan." But it is the bounden duty of every one to confess 
 his sins. Thus the method adopted in this chapter may be 
 most convenient : not to call a man back from honourable and 
 beneficent employment, but rather to encourage him to go on 
 and see for himself what it is that hinders, and what forbids 
 him to account himself a fellow-worker with CHRIST. Then, 
 perhaps, bitterly opposed in some well-intentioned scheme for 
 the relief of his brethren, he will look wistfully for a cool 
 breeze to divide the flames, and wonder why he cannot reach 
 the supernal sources of comfort. Before long he makes the 
 discovery. He learns that it is hard for anyone to rejoice in 
 GOD'S protecting love who refuses to mourn for his own long
 
 Sin and Repentance: the Aversion of the Virtuous. 21 
 
 ebellion against GOD. A secret rebellion, doubtless, which 
 has made little difference to his position in the Christian 
 world ; still, this secret sin, and not that opposition from 
 without, has been his real enemy. This is a painful schooling, 
 but it bears fruit in submission at last. When any rude shock 
 to self-esteem is felt to have been deserved, scales fall from 
 one's eyes, and a man realises what the plague of his own 
 heart has been. It need not be any grievous lapse that is 
 brought to mind, no cruel fraud, no flagrant unbelief, no foul 
 impurity. Perhaps what troubles his conscience is merely a 
 long course of self-deceit : no particular vice, but a vain 
 pretence of doing good to others, without any real soundness 
 in his own too inconsistent practice. Then, repentance at once 
 becomes desirable. While sin remains there can only be 
 frustration of hope, separation from GOD, despair of union 
 with CHRIST. When a sin has once been acknowledged before 
 GOD, repentance following does away with the whole guilt of 
 that sin. " Neither do I condemn thee ; go thy way ; from 
 henceforth sin no more." 1 
 
 This is the complement of that Faith which embraces 
 redemption through the Saviour's Blood. Faith does not 
 justify without repentance. Repentance remains the alone 
 condition for obtaining the forgiveness promised. By use of 
 repentance all the best that men are capable of will be once 
 more brought within view. Every barrier falls before the 
 charm of that word. But nothing else will join us to Him 
 who is " the hope of all the ends of the earth." 
 
 The best missionaries have ever been those who had the 
 deepest sense of evil in their own consciences. 2 Those, on the 
 other hand, who go to convert the heathen, full of self- 
 confidence, but little knowing how they themselves stand 
 before " the Truth," often lose their faith at the first repulse. 
 
 What the modern world so greatly fails to comprehend is, 
 that its proud hopes cannot be realised except in CHRIST, and 
 
 1 See S. Aug. (Tract, xxxiii. In S. Joann.) : " Et ille, Nee ego te 
 condemnabo ; a quo te forte damnari timuisti, quia in me peccatum non 
 invenisti." 
 
 2 See, for instance, i Tim. i. 12-14.
 
 22 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 in CHRIST as Saviour of sinners. Progress of a sort there may 
 be, without guilt acknowledged, or penance done ; but never 
 the right progress. For instance, no one pretends that wealth 
 and honour, knowledge, comforts, luxuries, are fairly distributed 
 by man to man ; and life is but a hustling race, in which the 
 weaker find no favour, while the foremost are urged on to 
 unworthy deeds by a constant pressure from behind. 1 What 
 weariness in these ! what satiety ! what longing to be honest 
 and upright ! But they cannot till they have repented truly of 
 past sins. What they can do is only to go forward as before, 
 performing what is expected of them, and trying to forget all 
 else. And yet mingled with the applause for this vain show of 
 success, come bitter cries from a crowd less fortunate, who feel 
 themselves shut out, neglected, trodden down. And they, too, 
 need repentance to bring them peace. But the rich must 
 humble themselves by the side of the poor, the well-learned 
 with the simplest. Let there be no difference. " All have 
 sinned, and come short of the glory of GOD ; " all must be 
 "justified freely by His grace." Let the penitence of the 
 most ignorant be matched with the penitence of the great and 
 wise. Let all learn that they were bought by the same saving 
 Blood, and have access to the same (but that the only) gate 
 which the Divine mercy holds open. So let them begin to 
 heal each other's wounds. Then the days of joy will have 
 their turn ; the different classes understanding one another at 
 last, because they have met on the common soil of humility 
 and self-abasement reposing at last in the Divine sympathy 
 of Him who hath borne our every grief, " and carried our 
 sorrows." 
 
 Certainly the happiest are they who have believed, and 
 observed, and kept these things from their childhood upwards. 
 
 Compare Shakspere (Troilus and Cressida, Act iii. sc. 3) : 
 " Take the instant way ; 
 
 For emulation hath a thousand sons, 
 That one by one pursue ; if you give way, 
 Or hedge aside from the direct forthright, 
 Like to an entered tide, they all rush by, 
 And leave you hindmost."
 
 Sin and Repentance: the Aversion of the Virtuous. 23 
 
 Justice may require that full allowance be made for many who 
 are slow to receive them ; because it must in truth be hard to 
 recognise moral disease under such a smiling surface as 
 everywhere now appears. But certainly those are happiest 
 who, through evil report and good report, have steadily held 
 before them that sternly-sweet revelation which the world 
 excludes from view, concerning sin, the dreadful wrath of GOD, 
 redemption through the Blood of CHRIST, and our own call to 
 repentance through faith in Him. Otherwise one may come to 
 know these things by sad experience, too late to escape from 
 the necessity of " reaping as we have sown." We shall be 
 convinced, and we shall repent, but we shall not, in this 
 world, arrive at perfect soundness ; we shall lack that joyous 
 enthusiasm which is so necessary for combating the evils which 
 surround our path. The happier way is to have learned these 
 things in childhood, cherishing our lesson ever after, with the 
 simplicity of little children. " Authority " [not instead of but] 
 " before reasoning," says S. Augustine, " is the proper natural 
 order." 1 Authority owned and responded to by loyal 
 obedience. Those who begin thus are likely to prove them- 
 selves able warriors against wrong. Perhaps the prime of their 
 consecrated manhood will be marked by victory. First, " I 
 have written to you, little children, because your sins are 
 forgiven you for His Name's sake." And then, " I write unto 
 you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one." 
 Far-reaching, indeed, are the issues of the Divine forgiveness. 
 We shall have to see, as we proceed, how the new creation of 
 each ransomed soul tends to its assured salvation, and a glory 
 which is of GOD. By the way of repentance we are called to 
 possession of the highest good the " good part not to be 
 taken away." As S. Augustine says again, Summum bonum 
 tale esse debet, quod non amittat invitus? 
 
 So bright, indeed, is this prospect which the mercy of 
 
 1 See S. Aug. (De Mor. Eccl. Cath. cap. i. 3) : " Unde igitur exordiar ? 
 ab auctoritate, an a ratione ? Naturae quidem ordo ita se habet, ut cum 
 aliquid discimus, rationem prsecedat auctoritas. Nam infirma ratio 
 videri potest, quae cum reddita fuerit, auctoritatem postea, per quam 
 firmatur, assumit." 
 
 2 S. Aug. (De Moribits Eccles. cap. iii.).
 
 24 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 an Almighty Father holds out to His children, that it causes 
 happiness to those far removed from our cares and sorrows. 
 " There is joy in the presence of the angels of GOD over one 
 sinner that repenteth." And that which angels exult when 
 they behold ought not to be delayed by man till the 
 conditions have become difficult and discouraging. The duty 
 of repentance is not a task to be embraced after long-protracted 
 stubborn resistance. Why should it ? The shadow of death 
 does not lie thick over our path when we " arise and go to our 
 FATHER " by sincere acknowledgment of a fault. Self- 
 examination has sometimes been compared to the opening 
 of a darksome well. On the contrary, it is letting in heaven's 
 light, that we may know whatever the HOLY SPIRIT has to 
 reveal, full of glorious promise. On the contrary, he who 
 makes true confession before GOD goes where sunshine awaits 
 him in that everlasting love which spares, restores, and blesses. 
 
 This is what makes a life worth living. Not to harden 
 one's will and blind one's eyes till, at last, when self- 
 accusation begins, we have wandered so far that the very 
 way to our home is lost; but rather, while pleading guilty, 
 and owning what has surely been amiss, never to approach the 
 Throne of grace with other than a trustful heart. This is 
 the weakness which withal is strong, the sorrow which is 
 turned to joy. 
 
 It is also the " poverty which makes many rich." For, 
 inasmuch as we are GOD'S penitent children, we learn a way 
 not only of pleading for ourselves, but of making our lament 
 into the same merciful ears for those far-extending evils and 
 miseries which are not our own. And this with the same 
 confidence as before, because we know that such intercessions 
 will obtain a gracious hearing and favourable answer. He 
 who every day delivers us from the burden of our own sins, 
 will He not show a way to redeem others also from bondage ? 
 One follows from the other. As penitents, we have "tasted 
 and seen how gracious the LORD is." Now, looking out over 
 the great world-wide desolation, the wreck and ruin that Satan 
 has caused, we feel how " nothing can be too hard for the 
 LORD," and have hope that even upon death will follow
 
 Sin and Repentance : the Aversion of the Virtuous. 25 
 
 resurrection. But this can only be realised by those to 
 whom penitence has become the settled habit and temper 
 of their lives. To them a GOD of mercy and pity is no 
 stranger. That makes the whole difference to their work as 
 reformers. 
 
 To conclude, there is great opposition in the modern world 
 to any treatment of sin on the old serious penitential lines. 
 Many object to it because, enjoying such smooth outward 
 conditions as they usually do, they cannot see why the soul's 
 inner life should be carried sadly over the rugged ways of self- 
 chastisement. Others, who realise that there is a battle to be 
 fought for truth and righteousness, trust largely to their own 
 instinctive hatred of current forms of evil, not without grateful 
 sense of what they owe to the inspiration of a perfect example 
 in the meek and lowly JESUS. Perhaps that would be 
 called the only religion fit for a " healthy-minded " person. 
 But does it satisfy all requirements ? Can the natural will 
 of man afford to depend only on the moving presence of an 
 example ? Surely not, if sin is what we are taught to call it in 
 the sacred Scriptures. Not, for instance, if the soul that sins 
 dies by its sin. Then, surely, we must turn to JESUS CHRIST 
 not merely for exhortation and comfort, but in order that, as 
 we believe on His Name, He may be to us " the resurrection 
 and the life." 
 
 A man could be saved very well by the mere exercise of 
 his free will, 1 and might save others, too, if he had nothing 
 worse to part with than errors of inexperience. But if he has 
 come to be convinced of personal guilt in offending against the 
 majesty, or the love, of a holy GOD, then the proud head 
 droops, and the cry for mercy is heard ; and, when the sinner 
 once more stands erect, he confesses that " by the grace of 
 GOD I am what I am." 
 
 1 See Bright's Age of the Fathers, ii. p. 164 : " Pelagius was thoroughly 
 impressed with the one idea that men's wills needed rousing into energy ; 
 that they must, by all possible means, be dragged out of their comfortable 
 inaction ; that they, half wilfully perhaps, underrated their own power of 
 doing right, and were content with passively expecting to be wrought 
 upon, moulded, and saved by a mercy and bounty which should leave 
 them nothing to do."
 
 26 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 After all, "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that 
 runneth, but of GOD that hath mercy." 
 
 In the next chapter will be noticed some other causes of the 
 dislike commonly felt. What have been mentioned here are 
 the most serious difficulties. The suggestion made from our 
 side, that one may argue from the failure of a man's best efforts 
 to his personal sinfulness and need of a Divine Saviour, will 
 not commend itself equally to all minds. However, that 
 argument cannot be pursued farther now. We must take our 
 stand on the fact that our Blessed LORD did with His own lips 
 command " repentance and remission of sins to be preached to 
 all nations," and, with that intent, bestowed the HOLY SPIRIT 
 upon His Church. 
 
 There are still very many of our countrymen who accept 
 that revelation of His will with becoming reverence. It should 
 be our joy that we have such around us to be loved and 
 honoured. They, at least, feel no disposition either to make 
 light of sin, or to despise the Divine mercy in JESUS CHRIST. 
 They cling fast to eternal hopes centered in Him crucified and 
 risen from the dead. This chapter's battle is not required for 
 such sincere and humble-minded Christians. 
 
 Nevertheless, there are doubts which will arise : not so 
 much on the obligation of repentance, as the methods and 
 limitations of its use in the Church. For this is no mere 
 emotional feeling, to be indulged according to the humour of 
 the moment, but has had, from time immemorial, a very well- 
 defined tangible outline. Penitence has place in history as a 
 Sacrament of the Church; 1 not, indeed, so "necessary to 
 salvation " as Baptism and Holy Communion, yet given, as all 
 sacraments are ut rite illis uteremur? By Penitence grace is 
 restored to those who submit dutifully to its discipline, bringing 
 to it their contrition, confession, and satisfaction for personal 
 
 1 It will be seen hereafter that the author uses some caution in 
 speaking of Penitence, or Penance, as a Sacrament. Cranmer's objection, 
 however, was not much to the point : " The Scripture taketh Penance for 
 a pure conversion of a sinner in heart and mind from his sins to GOD " 
 (Works, vol. ii. p. 100). Undoubtedly; yet the instrument in such 
 conversion and restoration might be a sacrament. 
 
 2 See Article xxv.
 
 Sin and Repentance: the Aversion of the Virtuous. 27 
 
 transgressions. 1 That is not a full account of this means of 
 grace ; yet, for so far as it goes, it may be bold and striking 
 enough to arouse some critical attention. In fact, some 
 amount of hostile opinion will have to be encountered ; and 
 whatever the issue, not courage merely will be required on 
 our part, but much "meekness of wisdom" 2 also. No good 
 end will be served by insisting for ever on ancient custom 
 without making allowance for others which, though of later 
 date, may suffer no disadvantage by being compared with 
 the ancient. Yet the Church's way is best ; and when, trusting 
 honestly to her guidance, we look up to the Almighty hand 
 which governs all, we do indeed make proof of 
 
 " mercy, carried infinite degrees 
 Beyond the tenderness of human hearts." 3 
 
 Only, in whatever may have to be written on our very 
 difficult subject, let us rest assured that there never ought to 
 be hardly can be a word that savours of unrighteous 
 arrogance. Neither that, nor narrowness, nor obscurity, in the 
 doctrine by which souls are led back to a GOD who knows the 
 hearts of all, and their several needs. 
 
 Deus, qui peccantium animas non vis perire, sed culpas : 
 contine, quam meremur, iram, et quam precamur, super nos 
 effunde clementiam ; ut de mcerore gaudium tuas misericordiae 
 consequi mereamur. Per Jesum, etc. (Penitential Prayers, 
 Gregorian Sacramentary). 
 
 1 Bishop Wilson says (Sacra Privata, Thursday Meditations), " That 
 perfect penance which CHRIST requireth consists of contrition, confession, 
 and amendment of former life, and obedient reconciliation to the laws 
 and will of GOD." 
 
 2 See S. James iii. 13. 
 
 3 From Wordsworth's Excursion, book iv.
 
 28 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Causes of divided feeling within the Church. 
 
 WE have seen what is one, at least, of the chief obstacles to 
 penitence. Aversion to the mention of sin may exist in three 
 ways. Either it is found among avowed sceptics, some of 
 whom (though unhappily not all) are sincere, and deserve much 
 compassion ; or in the great crowd of languid thinkers, who, 
 without working out for themselves a rival scheme, are glad to 
 push far away the fear of an offended GOD and His punish- 
 ments ; or else among opponents who are of a much higher 
 quality, and nearer to the Christian pattern. These last are 
 neither thoughtless nor languid : there are men of eminent 
 virtue among them. But they appear to believe that, by 
 refusing the painful and humiliating task of self-chastisement, 
 they keep themselves free to attempt much that would have 
 been else impossible, for their country's good and their own. 
 Nor is it likely perhaps that these will be moved by arguments 
 taken from the disappointments which await reformers who 
 have not made their peace with GOD through forgiveness 
 of sins. 
 
 One thing however is plain when we consider antagonists of 
 this kind. Whatever their confidence in progress without 
 penitence, none can pretend that the Bible is on their side, or 
 the Book of Common Prayer. Of course, they would allow 
 that they are not, and yet insist that their cause survives, and is 
 strong. But for us, who desire to be loyal children of the 
 Church, it is impossible not to feel that the controversy is now 
 at an end ; because we cannot argue on equal terms with 
 persons who reject an authority which we venerate. Certainly,
 
 Causes of divided feeling within the Church. 29 
 
 the question of penitence might be brought under the head of 
 moral philosophy, or of social science ; ' but it would then be 
 outside the bounds intended for the present enquiry. The 
 objections we desire to meet are those raised by believers in 
 CHRIST crucified, and in the Church, His Body. We acknow- 
 ledge the influence of another kind that exists in the world : 
 perhaps we feel sadly our inability to lead opponents into safer 
 paths. But we cannot fight with their weapons now. We 
 must say what the Church teaches, and prove our doctrine from 
 the sacred Scriptures. 
 
 This should make our task much easier, because one can 
 hardly imagine that Churchmen, whoever they are, will refuse to 
 own the grief and the mischief of sin. They may prefer not to 
 bring the subject forward, knowing how great the popular dis- 
 like is to the sound of the word : and prolonged silence may 
 have no good effect, at last, on their own personal convictions. 
 But this deterioration will be unsuspected by themselves, and, 
 in most cases, very gradual. On the whole, if a man still calls 
 himself a Christian, and confesses his faith by the Creeds, he 
 will not hesitate to adhere to the remission of sins, sincerely 
 and simply. 
 
 Can anything remain to dispute about, with one who so 
 believes ? He has no desire, as we have none, to close his eyes 
 either to the " goodness " or the " severity of GOD." While 
 firmly convinced that " the wrath of GOD is revealed from 
 heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men," he 
 apprehends also the " precious and exceeding great promises " 
 which have been " granted unto us " in JESUS CHRIST. He 
 and we alike expect to find, in the one and only Gospel, an 
 " epiphany of kindness and love towards man," a ladder set up 
 from earth to heaven, rejoicing angels, a FATHER'S embrace. 
 Is not this enough to make us brethren and friends ? 
 
 No ! One may be thankful if there remains a common intent 
 to accept redemption with its blessings, and to repent and 
 believe the Gospel. But none the less is there a large distaste 
 for that system of penitence which the Church established of 
 
 1 See, for instance, an article on "The Psychology of Conversion," 
 Church Quarterly, April, 1903.
 
 3<D The Use of Penitence. 
 
 old for the use of her children. And this is felt, not merely by 
 those who pretend that human nature has advanced beyond the 
 necessity for self-abasement, but by not a few of the more 
 devout sort, who pray to GOD, and value pious practices, and 
 have a high sense of the obligation of each Christian duty. 
 
 What these persons are most opposed to is, always, the 
 intervention of a priest. To that they feel intense dislike, 
 together with a persuasion that it is vain and superfluous, and 
 even derogatory to the pure mercy of GOD in CHRIST. Now, 
 the persuasion, truly, might have some ground for it if penitence 
 could not be kept apart from corruptions in practice, which 
 have little to recommend them. The jealous dislike, however, 
 is at the present moment wholly unreasonable ; and it is a pity 
 that good men should a-ilow themselves to be led in this matter 
 by a noisy and ignorant mob. No one is surprised to find the 
 unthinking multitude very fierce and bitter. But the best 
 Evangelicals might surely reflect that Papal aggression has 
 long ceased to be even a bugbear to Englishmen ; while the 
 spiritual pretensions of Anglican clergymen nowhere afford 
 cause for alarm. Notwithstanding which, we are constantly 
 being reminded that the ashes of old quarrels are by no means 
 extinct ; and that, with very little stirring, they would again 
 burst forth into flames. 
 
 Now, surely, most of the old causes of jealousy should be 
 dismissed from consideration. Among them, certainly the fear 
 of Papal aggression. Since Philip II., no European monarch 
 has been willing to lend fleets and armies to reinstate the Pope; 
 and as to spiritual invasion from the Vatican, English Protest- 
 antism has been amply strong enough to defend itself these 
 many years. It would be a waste of energy to protest that 
 " the Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this realm of 
 England." 1 There is no echo on these shores to that fretful 
 murmuring of the Pharisees, venient Romani, et tollent nostrum 
 locum, et gentem. So that, even if the priest in the confessional 
 were per impossibile the emissary of a foreign Church, it 
 would matter very little. 
 
 For a different reason, since it is wide of our present mark, 
 1 Article xxxvii.
 
 Causes of divided feeling within the Church. 31 
 
 I should pass by the hostility of the sects. 1 One hears of a new 
 alliance of "Free Churches" a thing very desirable in itself, 
 which one hopes may soon become more solid, and less senti- 
 mental, than it is at the present time. Possibly we might then 
 witness a general advance on lines of friendly "undenomina- 
 tionalism ; " which might, again, as is possible, be unfriendly 
 towards ourselves, though on most accounts a welcome sight. 
 But this is certainly not as yet a thing accomplished. The poor 
 priest may still breathe : he may even wear the " grave-clothes 
 of old superstitions " for a little longer, if he pleases. A revised 
 and anti-sacerdotal Prayer Book has not yet emerged from the 
 dim twilight of conspiracy. Except where politics are con- 
 cerned, the sects mind their own business. 
 
 Then, again, there is no inordinate cruelty in the intentions 
 of the rich, towards those whose work is mainly missionary, 
 among the poor. The great plutocrats are often nominally 
 Churchmen ; sometimes they are zealous Churchmen ; some- 
 times, but rarely, they are persecutors. Still more rarely are 
 they able to harm the Church by their persecution. These new 
 kings of the earth are not so omnipotent as a certain monarch, 
 whom it was thought " dangerous to tell all that he could do if 
 he chose." 3 But the fact is, that, for the most part, they have 
 little desire to be obnoxious. Most of them are hurried away 
 by ambition in a direction where the priest, and his cure of 
 souls, are quickly forgotten. And although rich men in all 
 ages may have found repentance a " needle's eye ; " and the 
 Stock Exchange is not productive of "mourners " for sin any 
 more than of " poor in spirit" who leave all for CHRIST'S sake ; 
 still, the annals of the day abound in exceptions even to this 
 rule. Many of our richer citizens are bestowing their wealth 
 piously and nobly. Many are simple and modest in their con- 
 versation ;3 who shall say that their hearts are not contrite 
 towards GOD ? 
 
 1 The great divisions of Christendom raise enormous obstacles to 
 pastoral work, and to the conversion of souls, both at home and in our 
 Colonies. But the intention of this chapter is to deal only with causes of 
 alienation or opposition among those of our own communion. 
 
 2 Sir Thomas More's well-known words about Henry VIII. 
 
 3 Though not particularly concerned with America, the author cannot
 
 32 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 But what are we to think of the attitude of those whom we 
 should most study to conciliate the " good Low-Churchmen," 
 as they used to be called ? 
 
 Alas ! there is only one way to describe it. They are 
 thoroughly alienated. They protest that we can have " neither 
 part nor lot " with them, if we are determined to uphold our 
 obnoxious doctrines and practices. And here let us be just, 
 and allow for a trouble which may have arisen from ambiguous 
 language. The Oxford Movement did well by compelling 
 attention to the Prayer Book as a whole (as also, what was even 
 more important, to the Bible as a whole) ; but even the Tract- 
 arians were not always agreed on the meaning of certain terms 
 employed, though of cardinal importance. And now, besides 
 the habit so many have of evacuating words of their once- 
 recognised force, one is obliged to allow for really obscure 
 passages, occurring in places where clearness was much to 
 be desired. This applies very much to the penitential state- 
 ments. For instance, we are taught that CHRIST " hath 
 given power and commandment to His ministers, to declare 
 and pronounce to His people, being penitent, the absolution 
 and remission of their sins ; " but as to what kind of decla- 
 ration is meant, and when, and how, and where, the clergy- 
 man is to " pronounce," extreme difference of opinion prevails. 
 The words, as they stand, are not enough to settle the 
 dispute. 1 
 
 But then, too, these excellent people are opponents through 
 what one may call the conflict of two good practical aims. 
 Which is it to be, priest or parent ? Pious Protestants value 
 highly the sacredness of home-life : they respect the holy bond 
 which unites the several members of a blameless English family. 
 This they think is endangered by the Catholic system of 
 
 deny himself the pleasure of emphasising this in the examples of some 
 members of the " Protestant Episcopal Church," whom he has had the 
 privilege of knowing, 
 
 1 Not much help was afforded by the directions which date from 1661, 
 viz., that this Form should be "pronounced by the priest alone, standing." 
 The Form was still left, to have its intention judged of by its actual con- 
 tents ; and the opinion is still tenable, that it amounts only to a declaration 
 of GOD'S promises in the Gospel.
 
 Causes of divided feeling within the Church. 33 
 
 penitence. Every one has heard how a warm regard for 
 domestic ties was a feature of the early Teutonic character. 
 The ancient Germans were noted for their respect for women, 
 unusual among barbarians. But where woman is honoured, the 
 family will gather round her as its centre. Thus, when the light 
 of Christianity had begun to dawn, children were " brought up 
 in the nurture and admonition of the LORD," and taught from 
 early years to prize their father's blessing, and their mother's 
 prayers. 
 
 Of course there is a difference now. The Fifth Command- 
 ment is not regarded as it used, and the young break away 
 from restraint precisely at that tender age when they would 
 appear to stand in greatest need of direction for their inexperi- 
 ence. Yet exceptions are met with. And moreover, even in 
 cases where fathers and mothers acknowledge inability to guide 
 or control their children, they are still loth to make room for 
 another to take their place. If their own voices are unheeded, 
 they at least will not disturb nature's order by bringing in a 
 stranger. The proper person to keep the family conscience, to 
 encourage the good, and to correct the erring, is the mother, 
 not the priest. Thus the very mention of a confessor is 
 a suggestion of secrets violated, and confidence estranged. 
 Together with acute pain, there is injury to the moral sense. 
 " For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother ;" and did 
 not the LORD say so too ? Was not that His own precept, 
 never to be broken ? 
 
 These are for the most part admirable sentiments. The 
 only mistake is in assuming that the priest's influence must be 
 either in flagrant opposition, or else secretly destructive of that 
 of the parent. Assuredly the two may be reconciled ; and 
 when the time comes for returning to the subject, we shall hope 
 to show how both have proper parts to fill in the due organisa- 
 tion of CHRIST'S kingdom. At present let us merely note the 
 objection before us, as deserving most respectful attention. By 
 all means let the integrity of home-life be cherished and guarded. 
 Within the family circle, if anywhere, are heard those " words 
 fitly spoken," prompted by purest affection conjoined with 
 prudence, which are like the " golden apple " set in its beautiful
 
 34 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 frame of " silver." x Against such a fortress as that, truly, " no 
 weapon that is formed shall prosper." 
 
 It will suffice to add one more hostile argument from the 
 side of devout Evangelicals. Nothing has contributed so much 
 to an anti-sacerdotal habit of thought, as the persuasion that 
 ministerial absolution raises a barrier between a soul and its 
 Saviour. Thus a man will insist that " his soul is his own ; " 
 adding, no doubt, what is by no means a corollary to that, but a 
 far greater truth antecedent to it, namely, that "the LORD saith, 
 All souls are Mine" Then, the question is whether he con- 
 siders enough, that GOD has set helps around for the protection 
 and training of this soul : that as GOD has given them, so he 
 must use them ; unless he is content that what he boasts of as 
 his own should be lost to him, utterly and for ever. However, 
 he proceeds to argue that, when CHRIST is the only " Way," no 
 earnest Christian can endure to have that way blocked by 
 CHRIST'S ministers. We have at least free access to CHRIST 
 Himself, and forgiveness through His Blood for the asking. 
 " What need of conference with a fellow-sinner ? Did not our 
 Saviour say, Come unto Me, and I will give you rest ? " 
 
 Now of course that text might very well be compared, as it 
 ought to be, with other passages where our LORD is found to 
 have deputed the care of souls to His apostles and their suc- 
 cessors in the Church. But the place for that will be farther 
 on. We are trying here to estimate difficulties under which 
 really pious people labour. For instance, one hears sometimes 
 of persons who have drawn back from confession after practising 
 it for years, because they felt that their longing for a closer 
 union with their Saviour was actually retarded and chilled. It 
 seemed to them that the cause of their disappointment was this 
 intervention of a human counsellor, on whom they had learned 
 to lean too implicitly. 2 Such persons deserve our sincere com- 
 
 1 Proverbs xxv. n. "Filagree-work," R.V. margin. The reading of 
 LXX. is ft.ri\ov xpwovv lv bp/jdffKy crapSiov, " a necklace of sardine stone." 
 Something, at any rate, very precious and beautiful. 
 
 2 See a Memoir of Annie Keary, by her sister, p. 164: "She had 
 been meeting Him through a medium, hearing about Him and His will, 
 instead of listening to His voice in her own heart. . . . From that 
 time she discontinued the practice of confession, though she never spoke
 
 Causes of divided feeling ivithin the Church. 35 
 
 passion. Not that we should hesitate to silence their scruples, 
 even while we set their minds at rest. But we should run to 
 meet them, when they plead for an open road to heaven's gate. 
 We should declare ourselves in fullest agreement with their 
 demand that each individual Christian soul should enjoy direct 
 guidance from above. Audiam quid loquatur in me Dominus 
 DfuSy quoniam loquetur pacem in plebem suam, et super sanctos 
 suos, et in eos qui convertuntur ad cor. 1 Human advisers can 
 neither supersede individual effort, nor stand in the place of 
 Him, the true KupSioyvwTrrjs whose eyes are over the righteous, 
 and His ears open to their prayers. Wherever spiritual life is 
 healthy, it will have been marked by special petitions and 
 mercies : by the opening of the gate by the Beloved Master 
 Himself, to souls whose knocking had been loud indeed to His 
 hearing, but secret and unperceived by neighbours. Nathanael 
 must still be discovered under the fig-tree, apart : Paul must 
 have a voice that none can hear except himself: Mary must sit 
 at the Master's feet while her sister is busied with other cares. 
 This is ever the privilege of earnest souls, the fruit of their 
 baptismal consecration ; that they should commune much alone 
 with GOD, having no teacher but the HOLY GHOST, no advocate 
 or mediator but " JESUS CHRIST the righteous." 
 
 And when the time comes for speaking on sacramental 
 penitence at greater length, the endeavour will be to show how 
 its proper object is to bring souls to CHRIST, that they may 
 afterwards " taste and see " for themselves. At first, indeed, 
 there will be room for the priest as CHRIST'S minister ; but his 
 part will be like that of Andrew, to lead his own brother to 
 JESUS, and then to leave him in His hands. Nor will sacra- 
 mental penitence be set forth as necessary and indispensable for 
 all alike. Not indispensable, for regular access, to those already 
 in a state of grace ; but intended rather for unhappy ones who 
 
 against it. ... She had come to lean too much on an outside con- 
 science." Such scruples are often sincere : though it is also quite possible 
 to deceive oneself. Keble describes a conscience which is 
 " Too feeble for confession's smart, 
 Too proud to bear a pitying eye." 
 
 (The Christian Year : " Ash Wednesday.") 
 1 Ps. Ixxxv. 8.
 
 36 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 have lost their way, and "forgotten their resting-place." 1 But 
 personal responsibility is neither evaded nor transgressed by 
 repairing on special occasions to officers duly authorised, whom 
 our LORD Himself puts within our reach, and invites us to 
 " receive in His Name." 
 
 One ought by all means to deal tenderly with the pious 
 evangelical Protestant. Yet there is a point of contact between 
 his objection and that of the non-Christian reformers of the last 
 chapter. At least, it would seem that both alike are impatient 
 of what would force the mind back upon past shortcomings; 
 and, perhaps, both have much the same way of pleading that we 
 ought, rather, to give our whole attention to the future. For 
 even Evangelicals are, in these days, more inclined to be 
 practical than emotional. They do not talk any longer of 
 submitting to " an inward change which comes through trusting 
 in CHRIST without works," 2 nor make that the excuse for 
 indolence. They would rather be useful, and " serve their 
 generation." Then, since CHRIST has paid their debt in full, 
 why should not that debt be banished from recollection ? Why 
 should it hinder them at this stage from doing good? Heartily 
 accepting salvation through His merits, they would prove 
 henceforth what a true /ieravoia. requires of one converted ; but 
 they reject poenitentia. Thus they arrive almost at forgetting 
 the ever-present necessity of the Sacrifice of the Death of 
 CHRIST, and the effect which that should have upon a 
 Christian's conception of duty. The idea is simply to do one's 
 best as if nothing had happened. Whereas, if we believe S. 
 Augustine, " It will not suffice to change one's conduct for the 
 better, nor to refrain from wicked actions, unless we also make 
 satisfaction to GOD for what we have done, by penitential sorrow 
 and humble lamentations, and by the sacrifice of a contrite heart, 
 assisted by almsgiving." 3 In that sentence, S. Augustine clearly 
 defines the Catholic position. 
 
 In short, these good people should not let their wrath wax 
 
 1 Jeremiah 1. 6. Special reasons for a more systematic recourse to this 
 ordinance will be suggested in chap. v. 
 
 2 " A notional religion, sterile and certainly doomed." (See Matthew 
 Arnold's Last Essays on Church and Religion.) 
 
 3 S. Aug. (Serm. cccli. : De Poenitentia).
 
 Causes of divided feeling within the Church. 37 
 
 hot against us because we insist on first laying a safe founda- 
 tion for them to build upon. Repentance is a solemn necessity, 
 a work that must not be hurried over. 
 
 All that they say about free grace we accept. Christians 
 are agreed that, through the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, 
 man's intercourse with his Maker has been made easy and 
 direct. He now requires no mediator save that One Who 
 took his nature to redeem it. " Whatever the FATHER giveth 
 Me shall come to Me, and him that cometh I will in no wise 
 cast out." And we might seem to extol the Divine mercy most 
 worthily, by reposing our whole trust on the Name that is 
 above every name ; setting aside all lower aids and means, and 
 forgetting our labour and trouble in the sweet recollection of 
 Him, our righteousness and full satisfaction. The modern 
 view, which is so practical, which assures us that our LORD 
 has no desire except to set our hands free for work, and forbids 
 to distress ourselves about the past since He has answered to 
 GOD for every claim, seems at first to go no farther than this 
 our common ground of agreement ; and it rejoices our hearts 
 by the generous light in which it presents our Blessed Master. 
 " How can we love Him enough, if He thus bears all our grief? 
 if He blots out the sum of legal obligations which we could 
 never fulfil ? He, too, who fashions the hearts of all men, and 
 gives to the Anglo-Saxon race a particular character according 
 to His will, has He not prepared them by freedom of soul for 
 that province in the world's necessary service which they are 
 destined to adorn ? Who could imagine this thoughtful, 
 progressive, industrious, indomitable people tutored always 
 under a system better suited to children than to grown men ? 
 Were the English, so far as spiritual interests went, to ' differ 
 nothing from servants,' though their right place was to be 
 ' lords of all ? ' " 
 
 Ah ! but presumption lurks in pleasant speech like this. 
 Confidence in CHRIST ought not anyhow to encourage us in 
 heathenish boasting. Under sentiments such as these one 
 might well write 
 
 ecrcrtTcu ijfiap OTO.V TTOT' oXwXy "IXtos tpi'j. l 
 1 Hector's lament to Andromache (Iliad vi. 448), was quoted by
 
 38 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 The greatness of England is not ensured by a blind vain- 
 glory very different from cherishing the virtues with which 
 GOD has endowed our national character. " How doth the 
 city sit solitary, that was full of people ! how is she become 
 as a widow ! she that was great among the nations, and 
 princess among the provinces ! " 
 
 Besides, our business here is not with the empire, but with 
 the individual conscience ; and it is certain that you and I 
 cannot have GOD'S blessing without a penitent frame of mind. 
 If we contented ourselves with a little superficial sadness, for 
 what was really grave disobedience, we should not have advanced 
 far without encountering sorrow from some other cause. 1 
 There seems to be a balance of pleasure and pain, which 
 adjusts itself by degrees, through the accidents of life. Those 
 who refused to be mourners for their transgressions after the 
 precepts of the Church, are sometimes utterly crushed by a 
 sudden bereavement, or the unkindness of treacherous friends. 
 The most joyous souls are those who give thanks all their days 
 for a pardon which they own to have been a huge boon, totally 
 unmerited on their part. And they are in no hurry to forget. 
 S. Peter's bitter tears were dried by his Master's own reassuring 
 presence ; but the tradition is constant, that he never slackened 
 penitence for that brief and sudden fall. 
 
 One may admit, however, that modern popular aspects of 
 religion are ever so much brighter than the discredited 
 Calvinism of the past. People do not now persist in gathering 
 clouds and darkness around their path, nor make Sundays, 
 especially, dreary to themselves and to all who come near 
 them. One is not so fain to wonder, concerning some of one's 
 acquaintance, whether they can ever have heard of the 
 Resurrection, or the communion of saints, or comfort of the 
 HOLY GHOST. There is certainly more of true eastern 
 sunshine* reflected in their faces, than one used to see there. 
 
 Scipio .rEmilianus at Carthage, " with melancholy forebodings for the 
 future of Rome." (See How and Leigh's History of Rome, p. 253.) 
 
 1 " Nemo secure gaudet, nisi bonae conscientias in se testimonium 
 habeat." (De Imitat. Cliristi, lib. i. cap. 20.) 
 
 7 S. Aug. (De Civ. Dei, lib. xi. cap. 7) : " Lucescit et mane fit, cum 
 scientia creaturae refertur ad laudem dilectionemque Creatoris."
 
 Causes of divided feeling within the Church. 39 
 
 And yet one feels that their tenure of inward peace is, perhaps, 
 precarious. Would that they could welcome a religion in 
 which, after the brief pain of owning faults, comes the immense 
 joy of the Divine acceptance a joy which " no man taketh 
 from you ! " 
 
 Yet even without this we need not feel that good men are 
 sundered from us utterly and irrecoverably. We wish indeed 
 that we could overcome their repugnance to a discipline 
 which we believe to be, in its right place, wholesome and 
 necessary, while it is, equally, most merciful and gracious. And 
 there really seems no reason why we should not succeed. 
 But if we fail, we must remember that any distrust of minis- 
 terial absolution is a far less evil than wilful unconsciousness 
 of sin. Once or twice in the foregoing pages one has had to 
 point out the danger of approaching that latter abyss, when 
 people have shown themselves too impatient of the sorrowful 
 delays which the Church has been wont to enjoin. But we 
 may be quite sure that those whom we have now in mind 
 intend nothing of the sort ; and our hope is to be found with 
 them, sooner or later, at the foot of that Cross, from which He, 
 lifted up, draws all men unto Him. 
 
 Indeed, indeed, they ought not to be our opponents. Look 
 again at what is the real obstacle to GOD'S truth that 
 widespread disparagement of the mischief and malice of sin, 
 virtually almost unbelief in sin, which was the chief subject 
 of discussion in our first chapter. How can the practical 
 result be other than evil ? Mr. Gladstone is reported to 
 have said, that " the gradual and palpable decline of 
 the sense of sin, in the literature and society of to-day, is 
 the darkest among the many signs now overshadowing the 
 bright and hopeful promise of the future." 1 It is a serious 
 reflection how, if this be true, the enemy must be recovering 
 ground in Christian England, once " isle of saints," " other 
 Eden, demi-paradise." 2 Steadily, then, and perhaps not very 
 slowly, we glide back towards that inexorable fate of paganism, 
 that " the whole world lies in the evil one." And is it not 
 
 1 Quoted by Dr. Gott, Bishop of Truro, in a Pastoral Letter, A.D. 1903. 
 
 2 See Sbakspere's Richard the Second, Act ii. sc. i.
 
 40 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 indeed paganism, to which we are hastening year by year ? 
 What else do missionaries tell us, on whom devolves the 
 necessity of comparing heathen standards with those of a 
 so-called Christian home -country ? " The most serious 
 difficulty," writes one, " of all that we encounter in India is 
 an intensely low moral tone, checking healthy progress in 
 well-nigh every direction, and above all blunting the power of 
 conscience and the consciousness of sin, to a degree which is 
 hardly possible to conceive." 1 Where the really inconceivable 
 thing is the injury done to those easterns by contact with what 
 is worse than their own paganism the selfish luxury and 
 intemperance by which our countrymen, not they, disgrace 
 themselves, and the wholly godless conversation, to which all 
 the idolatries of the heathen world would be preferable. 
 
 But enough. There is no use in opening out that vista, 
 which, as it lengthens, carries the eye too far from matters of 
 immediate concern. If we must needs rush into the perplexing 
 problems of the Far East, we shall leave the practical question 
 of repentance for sins done among those of our own race, and 
 in the land of our birth. And even for those whose work calls 
 them abroad, it is best that this subject should be studied first 
 at home. But none the less is Mr. Gladstone's warning 
 justified : the evil of which he speaks is here, felt in many a 
 quiet English family, and by no means confined to one class. 2 
 Now and then, a voice is heard "crying in the wilderness." 
 Some popular author takes courage to scourge the prevalent 
 vices ; and one may hope that his words do not fall quite 
 unheeded, that his efforts are not altogether fruitless. Unless, 
 indeed, he has made himself the prophet of a hard and sour 
 pessimism, as may too easily happen where the reformer's own 
 heart has not been softened by the sweet balm of penitence. 
 
 But the Church alone can provide for her children's need. 
 In her keeping are the leaves of the tree of life which heal : 3 
 
 1 From an article by Dr. Lefroy, Bishop of Lahore, in The East and 
 the West, April, 1903. 
 
 2 Except that the upper class is, for obvious reasons, most amenable to 
 his charge of suppressing the mention of sin " in literature and society." 
 
 J See Neale's Commentary on the first Psalm, verse 4: "As the fruit 
 signifies works, so the leaves set forth words. The leaves of the tree,
 
 Causes of divided feeling within the Church. 41 
 
 hers the access to Jordan, where one may still " wash and be 
 clean." Every Catholic mind is most deeply convinced of the 
 saving efficacy of these spiritual treasures. Is there no hope of 
 imparting the same assurance to others ? Can no common 
 ground be discovered in this controversy on repentance ? We 
 have looked at the opposition from the side of national 
 independence, from the independence of the individual, from 
 pride of wealth and high station, from jealousy of priestly 
 influence as felt especially by parents. But surely, wherever 
 earnest Christians are found, in a matter so closely connected 
 with their Saviour's redeeming work, there must be some points 
 of agreement ? And are not these the greater points ? And 
 will not, therefore, the Church's many voices of supplication 
 rise at last to the FATHER in solemn and tender unison a 
 chanted psalm without a discord ? 
 
 Let us think of any of the grand abbey-churches of Western 
 Europe, as we have seen them ; perhaps defaced now, or 
 ruinous ; still impressive by their association with Catholic 
 worship. Who, while pacing along those aisles, can be 
 unconscious of the spirit that once was present there a 
 spirit of humble petition to the Great Author of forgiveness ? 
 See the broken screen, from which the Saviour once stretched 
 forth His hands, uplifted on the holy rood : " Come unto Me, 
 and I will give you rest." Listen, as it were, to the echoes of 
 solemn music at Passion-tide, the Pange lingua, the Vexilla 
 Regis. Observe the brethren in choir, as with bowed heads 
 they recite Miserere. Pass on to the high altar at Easter, and 
 receive your soul's peace from the risen CHRIST, as He shows 
 the wounds whereby the price of your redemption was paid. 
 Shall all those memories be revived in vain ? Yes, perhaps, in 
 vain. For, to many sincere Christians, those are but old 
 superstitions : to think of their former reign, their vanished 
 influence, draws none nearer to where we are to-day. On the 
 contrary, if they are now abolished, (our opponents would say,) 
 it is well. 
 
 the words of Him that spake as never man spake, ' are for the healing of 
 the nations.' His leaf, not leaves; for all the words of CHRIST are 
 comprehended in this one, namely Love."
 
 42 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 Then shall we speak next of hymns that we all love? 
 Surely, in the congregational use of some of those, there is a 
 wonderful power working towards re-union. " When I survey 
 the wondrous Cross : " who among us would wish to alter a 
 single line ? yet its author was a Nonconformist. Whoever 
 wrote it, we should say, it is the noblest expression in the 
 English language of that true and genuine emotion, which only 
 a contrite spirit feels in contemplating the Sacred Passion. 
 And still, perhaps, pathetic hymns have had their day. This 
 generation thinks and criticises it does not feel. If we would 
 discover a force which should " bow the hearts of all men, even 
 as the heart of one man," we must not look to our hymnals to 
 supply it. 
 
 But at least the Holy Bible remains. We can, and do, 
 unite ourselves to the thanksgiving of a Kempis, when he 
 exclaims, " Thanks be unto Thee, O LORD JESUS, Thou Light 
 of everlasting Light, for that table of sacred doctrine, which 
 Thou hast prepared for us by Thy servants the prophets and 
 apostles." ' Give us the Bible : give us the Psalter, and the 
 prophecy of Isaiah, and the story of the Cross, and the words 
 of JESUS which are "spirit and life ;" and we shall surely have 
 enough to bring all faithful men with one accord to the Throne 
 of Grace, to intreat for themselves and for all mankind. 
 
 It cannot be only among those of one party that there is 
 sympathy with distressed consciences ; with souls seeking for 
 pardon and peace, for Divine comfort and uplifting. One 
 should rather say that the pity for them is boundless, among 
 all our earnest people. And if traditional teaching is viewed 
 with suspicion, by all means let us come with open minds to 
 the study of Scripture itself. That is safe at least to begin 
 with. If Puritan individualism is to have a free hand anywhere, 
 let it be in searching out a path for the soul's return to GOD. 
 Later, we shall have to think of rules laid down by saints, and 
 become " men under authority." Utterly to reject such helps 
 would be folly indeed. But it has been well said that 
 " historical considerations do not weigh with men against 
 their own impressions ; " and it is really best that they 
 1 See The Imitation of Christ, book iv. chap. xi. 4.
 
 Causes of divided feeling within the Church. 43 
 
 should form their own convictions first, and give them full 
 and sufficient trial. Therefore, though " the world could not 
 contain the books that have been written " on penitence, let us 
 put all aside for the present, and trust ourselves simply to the 
 precious words which stand in the sacred narrative ; only 
 expecting from our brother-Christians reasonable treatment, 
 common sense, and kindness. 
 
 " If in anything ye are otherwise minded, even this shall 
 GOD reveal unto you : only, whereunto we have already attained, 
 by that same rule let us walk." 
 
 For the subject, therefore, of the next chapter, we will take 
 the witness which the sacred Scriptures bear to the origin of 
 penitence, and to its growth from the beginning to the fulness 
 of time.
 
 44 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Development of Penitence, before and after Christ. 
 
 A VERY slight study is all that is here intended of some of the 
 penitential aspects of ancient religious thought. Chief and 
 most important for our present purpose is the preparation of 
 Israel. Other nations may have been actuated in part by the 
 same hopes and fears. But in the case of Israel we know that 
 we have a people taught of GOD, first to understand sin by 
 revelation from Himself, then to acknowledge their guilt by 
 means of ordinances of His own appointment, and finally to 
 preserve in prophecy the expectation of that Redeemer who 
 should at last be sent " to bless them, in turning away every 
 one of them from their iniquities." 
 
 However, Penitence is much older than the Mosaic covenant. 
 From the beginning of the world, men must have had earnest 
 thoughts about sin and its consequences. While yet the idea 
 of covenanted mercies in any shape was strange and dim, Enoch 
 stands forth "an example of repentance to all generations." 1 
 We, indeed, are now so used to speak of the soul's new birth of 
 the HOLY GHOST, that we hardly realise conversion apart from 
 baptismal regeneration : even in preaching to the heathen, we 
 find it most natural to begin with our Saviour's word to 
 Nicodemus. But the two are quite distinct. Most true it is 
 that, since CHRIST came, the doctrine of repentance has stood 
 out in firm and clear outline, as it never did before. Presented 
 to mankind in JESUS' Name, it wears a gracious and tender 
 aspect, enlisting our deepest affections and strongest hopes, 
 even more than it compels our fear. But, wherever the human 
 
 1 Ecclus, xliv. 1 6.
 
 The Development of Penitence, before and after Christ. 45 
 
 conscience had not been asleep, men were wont to be moved to 
 sorrow for their own wrong-doing. Though conscience may not 
 be always the faithful echo of the Divine Judgment, it is at least 
 the serious inward response of a rational being, prompted by 
 the felt presence of an all-holy living GOD. According to the 
 notions that men have entertained of GOD, has ever been their 
 sense of sin. If they made Him one of a number, or degraded 
 Him to a vague all-pervading principle, conceptions of that kind 
 would have little effect upon their view of right and wrong. 
 The virtues of Greece and Rome were not formed on the pattern 
 of Olympus, nor were evil-doers deterred by the wrath of Apollo. 
 If, on the other hand, GOD was held to be the one living Person, 
 supreme in power, truth, and righteousness, His children would 
 confess themselves accountable, and lament their misdeeds 
 before Him, in the way that we are familiar with in the Psalms 
 of David. 1 
 
 Yet it is more than possible that, even in a pantheist or 
 polytheist, conscience exists to some extent ; so that the 
 Divinity which he acknowledges, even though to him nameless, 
 is able to appeal to his moral choice, and to affect him with 
 dread, shame, or inward peace, as the case may be, in view of 
 a certain definite course of action. 2 There can be little doubt 
 that such ideas have been "common to man" from the very 
 first, however dull of soul he might be through ignorance, how- 
 ever elated by philosophy, however little illumined through 
 study of inspired Scriptures. " We make our appeal," said 
 Tertullian, " to souls simple, rude, unpolished, untutored, be 
 they taken from the street, market, or weaver's shop, or 
 from whence you will." 3 But he might just as well have 
 included other souls by no means unpolished, highly accom- 
 plished in secular science. " Knowledge puffeth up," but it 
 does not quickly make one deaf to GOD'S inward warnings. It 
 
 1 As in Psalms xxxviii. and xl. ; or, especially, see Ps. xc. 
 
 * Among the Brahmanists, however, the moral sense is weak, and their 
 asceticism has no penitential intention. Those ancient religions which 
 recognise a kind of Divine sonship in man, proceed on the theory of 
 emanation, and ascribe no true personality to the supreme Being. Yet 
 even the Egyptians sometimes prayed to Amon as Father. 
 
 3 See Tertull. De Testim. Animee.
 
 46 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 was not even necessary, for the purpose of penitence, that 
 secular studies should have been tempered and chastened by 
 acquaintance with the Divine law of righteousness. Certainly, 
 " by the law is the knowledge of sin ;" and the Ten Command- 
 ments were regarded with fear, because, when their lawgiver 
 came down with shining face to deliver them, Israel felt that he 
 was bearing them direct from GOD " written with the Finger 
 of GOD." But not only Moses, who had seen the Divine glory 
 from the rocks of Sinai, could "persuade men" by that "terror." 
 Whether with or without the written law, with or without awful 
 visions and revelations, conscience would exert its sway. It 
 could not be destroyed, because its " fresh springs " were in 
 GOD : from GOD it came : it was (says Jeremy Taylor) " the 
 vicar of GOD." Its admonitions were the fulfilment of a Divine 
 promise, implied in the original fashioning after the Divine 
 image. 1 And, of course, its witness might often be most con- 
 soling. "If our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward 
 GOD." 2 Conscience (said the author of De Interiori Domo} is 
 the peaceful home in which one may rest, after service loyally 
 rendered in the great warfare with evil. 
 
 On the contrary, wherever there was an accusing conscience, 
 men felt that GOD would punish them for their wicked deeds. 
 They acknowledged that they had forfeited the right of exist- 
 ence. For them, no longer the sun shone, or the rain brought 
 forth fruits from the earth. When Ezekiel declared with solemn 
 emphasis that the sinning soul should die, he enunciated no new 
 doctrine. New might be the sound of those added words,3 
 that children should no more be included in their father's ruin : 
 but all knew already that the actual offender deserved no less 
 than to die for his trespass. Punishment was not thought of as 
 corrective and remedial, in those early days. It was simply the 
 removal of a barren tree from the space which it cumbered. 
 Was not that the original sentence upon Adam death for dis- 
 obedience ? 
 
 Yet the issues of life and death were in the Creator's hand, 
 and His creatures could rest in the assurance that He " hated 
 
 1 See Jerem. xxxi. 33, for a later more explicit statement. 
 
 2 i S. John iii. 21 : compare Acts xxiv. 16. 3 Ezek. xviii. 20.
 
 The Development of Penitence, before and after Christ. 47 
 
 nothing that He had made." 1 He was able indeed to destroy, 
 but He was also "the LORD by whom we escape death," 2 
 Thus the offender's sorrow, even under sharpest stings of con- 
 science, or heaviest apprehension of doom, was never quite with- 
 out hope. To a GOD long-suffering and gracious there might be 
 room to appeal. Nor would the appeal be in vain : the sinner's 
 days might still be prolonged in the land of his inheritance. 
 
 The first thought of fallen man was to propitiate by the 
 vicarious oblation of sacrifice. A life for a life. To us, for 
 whom the sufficient answer to every alarm is in " the offering of 
 the Body of JESUS CHRIST once for all," it is natural to 
 depreciate the importance of the primitive idea. There must 
 be many days of ours days of active, thrilling interest in 
 which we scarcely realise that we live this earthly life only 
 " because He lives," who first died for us. Yet that is the 
 simple fact. He is " the Saviour of the body," and without 
 Him we could have nothing to urge against the justice of 
 immediate punishment for sin. 3 But what we now forget, was 
 much more present to the consciousness of them of old time. 
 They felt the decree of death hanging over them, and the 
 sacrificial system was their most obvious means of averting an 
 untimely doom. At all events, the experiment seemed reason- 
 able to be made. Something else was to shed its blood, that so 
 their own might not be required : that something to be taken 
 from property which they owned a costly offering, freely 
 surrendered to the awful Supreme Being. Opposite sides have 
 been assumed on the question whether the institution of sacrifice 
 was from heaven, or of men. In reality, this is unimportant. 
 For whether the first altar was, or was not, reared in obedience 
 to a Divine command, we know GOD accepted the first sacrifice 
 made with shedding of blood, and pronounced Abel, the faithful 
 offerer, " righteous in respect of his gifts." 4 Very early, too, was 
 
 i Wisdom xi. 24 : compare Deut. xxxiv. 39. * Psalm Ixviii. 20. 
 
 3 See Bishop Butler (Analogy, part ii. chap. 3) : " Men have no right 
 to either life or property, but what arises from the grant of GOD : when 
 this grant is revoked, they cease to have any right at all in either." This 
 is quoted by James Mozley (Old Testament Lectures, p. 31). 
 
 4 Heb. xi. 4 : (^aprvp^drj elvai SIKCLIOS, /j-aprvpovvros eiri rot's dwpois avrov rov 
 6eoO).
 
 48 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 introduced the idea, that men might be reconciled, and live 
 together in concord through partaking solemnly of a sacrificial 
 feast ; and this custom, in its turn, enjoyed the Divine favour 
 and benediction. Thus, through the blood of the slain victim, a 
 covenant was sealed with earth and with heaven ; after which, 
 the once guilty sinner might return to dwell in a peaceful 
 habitation, undismayed by fear of coming evil. Such was the 
 primitive idea ; which, we may suppose, exerted a stronger hold 
 over the imagination, as experience showed their GOD appeased 
 by the regular tribute of sacrifices by sinful man. 1 
 
 What, then, did their experience really amount to ? What 
 were the measures of that Divine forgiveness, which infused 
 peace into the little-instructed conscience of the ancient world ? 
 Perhaps the safest opinion is that GOD, while putting away the 
 sins of those who repented honestly, was not understood to 
 promise much beyond escape from present death, and continu- 
 ance of good days on the earth. 2 Some of His elect would be 
 taught already, by Him who " spake by the prophets," to " see 
 
 1 The view now commonly entertained is, that the slaying of victims 
 in ancient times was either to mark the slayer's initiation into a state of 
 ceremonial perfection, or else (where numbers partook of a sacrificial 
 feast), to promote tribal unity and patriotic feeling. Even in considering 
 the Levitical sacrifices, neither Bishop Westcott nor Dr. Paterson allow 
 much space to the idea of propitiation ; while Dr. Edersheim declares 
 that " Rabbinic tradition found no place for the Priestly Office of the 
 Messiah, not feeling the need of deliverance from sin." None the less, 
 the Epistle to the Hebrews must be our guide to the real intention of the 
 Levitical sacrifices. Nor can the desire for remission have been altogether 
 absent from other offerings, that were not within the covenant ; they 
 expressed the longing of guilt-laden souls for the Divine mercy. Dr. Swete, 
 indeed, says (Hastings' Diet. " HOLY SPIRIT "), " The conception of a 
 CHRisT-Priest was entirely wanting, till it presented itself to the writer of 
 the Epistle to the Hebrews." But, surely, the great conception was latent 
 in much of the pre-Christian ritual ? 
 
 2 It is a great deal more than we can be sure of, that GOD never ruled 
 His ancient people by means of temporal rewards and punishments. We 
 should then have to set aside the long-accepted significance of David's 
 glorious reign, and the doctrine not merely of the Psalms but of the Ten 
 Commandments. Mr. W. R. Inge, in his Faith and Knowledge, Serm. V., 
 is content with refuting the theory of temporal retribution " in its crude 
 form," and showing how soon that came to be superseded by what was 
 truer and better. In fact, the theory still survives, and enters into the 
 criticism of Christian times. If not many now acquiesce in contemporary 
 verdicts on the deaths of Arius and Julian, a large number agree cordially 
 with S. Gregory Nazianzen's Oration on the triumph of Athanasius.
 
 The Development of Penitence, before and after Christ. 49 
 
 the day of CHRIST," 1 and to form hopes of a better life beyond 
 the grave. But, however this may have been in individual 
 cases, one must think that the popular outlook was much nearer 
 and narrower ; and that temporal blessings were what the 
 greater number desired and cared for. If they had thought 
 more of spiritual profit, or of eternal life to be won, it seems 
 unlikely that rest and satisfaction would have been found in 
 that old routine of sacrifices. 
 
 We note, accordingly, that, as the education of the human 
 race advanced, sacrifices fail to satisfy the longings of the 
 troubled conscience. Our sense of sin must depend upon the 
 worthiness of our conception of the holy GOD. He Himself is 
 the law which His children obey : their heavenly parentage re- 
 quires that the father's image stamped upon the son should be a 
 Divine image. 2 Thus, the more He reveals of His own perfec- 
 tions, the greater is our responsibility before Him. We cannot 
 hide ourselves from eyes which are " in every place, beholding 
 the evil and the good." We must walk "in the light of His coun- 
 tenance," which illumines our path wherever we go. Nor does His 
 seeing us issue merely in some angelic succour to the sore dis- 
 tressed. That is not excluded. But the increasingly familiar 
 thought has been of a "righteous GOD trying the very hearts and 
 reins" a FATHER searching to find His own likeness in our souls. 
 
 So, then, penitence has gradually become a deeper thing 
 than at first, and the craving for atonement is no longer to be 
 met by oblations of the firstlings of flock or herd. 
 
 For a time the terrors of awakened consciences might be 
 dispelled by either increasing the quantity, or improving the 
 quality, of what was offered. " Will the LORD be pleased 
 with thousands of rams ? " Or, if not, " Shall I give my 
 first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the 
 
 1 S. John viii. 56. It would be hard not to see a hope of resurrection 
 in Psalms xvi. and xvii : yet one has to consider, on the other side, passages 
 like Ps. vi. 5, Job x. 22, and Isaiah xxxviii. 18. David's own personal hope 
 is not plainly declared by his words in 2 Sam. xii. 23. 
 
 2 The Divine image must have been apprehended by the writer of 
 Gen. ix. 6 ; and was it not cherished too by the psalmist who described 
 man as " made a little lower than the Elohim ? " There was a true 
 royalty even in fallen man : he was not a mere roi depossede, as Pascal 
 calls him. 
 
 E
 
 50 The Use of Penitettce. 
 
 sin of my soul ? " In rejecting both of these, the line taken by 
 the Prophet Micah is precisely the same as Samuel's, that " to 
 obey is better than sacrifice." But it does not meet the 
 sinner's original difficulty. To us Christians Micah's preference 
 for obedience should be useful and edifying, because amend- 
 ment of life is really possible, under those large measures of 
 grace to which we have access in JESUS CHRIST our Saviour ;' 
 and amendment of life is the crown and consummation of 
 penitence. Yet, even so, an amended future cannot atone for 
 a guilty past. That has to be dealt with first. The passage 
 in Micah, therefore, is interesting to us at the present moment 
 chiefly, or only, because it shows fallen man making passionate 
 efforts to arrive at peace with GOD, and shows at the same 
 time how unavailing those efforts were. It might be more to 
 bring a hecatomb, than a single sheep or bullock ; and 
 to offer a darling child to be slain might, indeed, be very much 
 more, but still, it was not enough. For, as men began to 
 reflect on the nature of that immortal soul which GOD had 
 formed within them, they saw, first, that a man's superiority 
 over other creatures must consist in his exercise of reason and 
 free-will, which conferred upon him a responsible position, from 
 which he could not recede. Next, they perceived that sin is no 
 less than a revolt, of the said human reason and freewill, against 
 that supreme intelligence and sovereign will which are GOD'S. 
 Wherefore, there can be no atonement, though made with shed- 
 ding of blood, unless the reasonable soul and will of the victim 
 consent to the offering brought. The victim must not only be led 
 to the altar step ; he must of his own accord lay down his life. 
 
 Thus many have supposed that Abraham's sacrifice of 
 Isaac merited approval, not merely because the father "did not 
 withhold his only son," but because Isaac himself made no 
 resistance when he was bound and stretched on the wood. In 
 a less degree one cannot but think that GOD took pleasure in 
 those historic examples, that are familiar, of voluntary surrender 
 
 1 Compare S. Aug. (Prop, ad Rom. xviii.) : " Gratia vero efficit, ut 
 non tantum velimus recte facere, sed etiam possimus ; non viribus 
 nostris, sed Liberatoris auxilio, qui nobis etiam perfectam pacem in 
 resurrectione tribuat ; quse pax perfecta bonam voluntatem consequitur.'
 
 The Development of Penitence, before and after Christ. 51 
 
 to death : for instance, heroes of the old Roman republic. 1 
 One thing, however, always detracted from their merit. They 
 did not die as penitents. 2 They did not acknowledge their 
 own and their country's chief need. Nor is it likely that Isaac 
 had that motive, except very imperfectly. 
 
 True sorrow for sin could only be developed as the belief 
 gained ground, that GOD was not only the enthroned King, 
 Almighty and omniscient, jealous of His rights, and punishing 
 the guilty with death, but also a Father who loved mankind as 
 His own offspring, and desired their highest welfare. The 
 mercy and long-suffering of a tender parent towards His erring 
 children, were what called forth that responsive affection which 
 at last acquired the name of contrition the " broken heart 
 which GOD will not despise." The Hebrew prophets and 
 psalmists are so full of this contrition as to prove that, although 
 not perfectly exhibited till CHRIST came, its germ, at least, 
 could be and was produced under the old dispensation. Those 
 " controversies " of Jehovah with His people were nothing else 
 but earnest pleadings of past favours on His side, to which 
 Israel was to listen with deep pain, and self-abasement. 
 Their intention was not so much to shake the sinner's heart 
 with fear, as that he should " mourn sore, like a dove," for all 
 the foul ingratitude of which he had been accused. Contrition 
 
 1 Or the famous Greek examples, Codrus and Iphigenia, to whom 
 S. Ambrose alludes (In S. Luc. lib. v.). They were indications, he says, 
 of a tendency towards something nobler and better, to come hereafter : 
 " Non in principiis perfecta quasruntur ; sed de principiis ad ea quse perfecta 
 sunt pervenitur." Yet the stories are grand enough as we find them : 
 
 . . . . (L trdrep, Trdpei/j.i crot, 
 
 Kal TTJS airdffr]s 'EXXdSos yalas vwep 
 Gi'ffai didufJ.' fKovcra irpbs ^wfj.w 0eay. 
 
 (Eurip. Iphig. in Aul., 1551, etc.) 
 Compare the following lines from Browning's Paracelsus : 
 
 " I seemed to long 
 
 At once to trample on, yet save mankind ; 
 To make some unexampled sacrifice 
 In their behalf, to wring some wondrous good 
 From heaven or earth for them, to perish, winning 
 Eternal weal in the act ; as who should dare 
 Pluck out the angry thunder from its cloud, 
 That, all its gathered flame discharged on him, 
 No storm might threaten summer's azure sleep."
 
 52 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 was not too strong a word for the sorrow of children, owning 
 themselves unworthy of Him who had chosen all their tribes, 
 and called Israel " His son, His firstborn." 1 
 
 Obedience was better than sacrifice ; a contrite spirit was at 
 least more necessary, for fallen men, than either. But could 
 even contrition avail the sinner for atonement ? Suppose 
 it to have been manifested by a most generous and fearless 
 acceptance of death, the willing self-chastisement of a brave 
 and honest spirit, would the victim in that case have " delivered 
 his brother ? " would he even have saved his own soul ? 
 
 Possibly, such really glorious deeds might have satisfied an 
 inexorable conscience, if the hope of appeasing GOD had been 
 kept down to the limit with which it began. The self-sacrifice 
 of Leonidas and his four thousand, or of Judas the Maccabee, 2 
 might have seemed to have wrought some kind of expiation 
 of their countries' guilt, if subsequent victories, and the 
 re-establishment of peace, could be sufficient tokens of Divine 
 approval. But in a more thoughtful age, material prosperity 
 could not any longer be either the supreme assurance of GOD'S 
 favour, or the best of what was desired. If GOD was indeed a 
 FATHER, most loving, tender, and gracious, He must surely 
 intend to keep, one by one, these souls that He had formed for 
 Himself, and to render them worthy of His choice. Then, 
 what could man do to secure these spiritual blessings ? or to 
 acknowledge them when received ? The attraction, by which 
 devout souls were impelled towards an Infinite Being who had 
 declared His love for each and for all of them, would be checked 
 by a deepening apprehension lest their sins should have made 
 them unfit to stand before Him. If He was, indeed, minded to 
 "accept them" that is, themselves, not their gifts "as a 
 whole burnt-offering," 3 there must first be a thorough cleansing 
 made of these guilty hearts. And for that, nothing that they 
 could propose to do was sufficient. The very self-abasement 
 of their contrition only added to their consciousness of being 
 weighed down by the old transgressions. 
 
 Nothing was sufficient for such a need. Sacrifices could 
 not rid those who brought them of their guilt. Contrition 
 
 1 Exod. iv. 22. 2 See i Mace. ix. 1-23. 3 Wisdom iii. 6.
 
 The Development of Penitence, before and after Christ. 53 
 
 could not undo the past, though it might appeal, not in vain, to 
 the pity of an Almighty FATHER. Prayer itself was felt to be of 
 little avail. It is true that " the practice of prayer has been, 
 from the first, coextensive with the idea of religion : wherever 
 man has believed a higher power to exist, he has assumed that 
 he can enter into converse with such a power." 1 It is also true 
 that " the purest, loftiest, most passionate forms of prayer occur 
 in the Psalter ; " and that these were composed while men still 
 laboured under the old disabilities. Yet one can hardly think 
 that such prayers provided them with a free way of escape. 
 " O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come." 
 But, after beginning thus, the psalmist seems to check himself 
 " Iniquities prevail against me." The incense in the Temple 
 symbolised a sweetness of filial intimacy to which human 
 nature dared not yet aspire ; and the holy men who, on stated 
 occasions, " called on the Name of the LORD," were intercessors 
 for a people " of unclean lips," who for the most part did not 
 pray for themselves. 2 Or if sometimes, in some unusual 
 emergency, a " spirit of supplication was poured "3 more largely 
 upon Israel; if at a prophet's bidding the multitude "took 
 with them words, and turned to the LORD, rendering as 
 bullocks the offering of their lips;" 4 it does not appear, even 
 then, that more was proposed than a readmission to the terms 
 of the Mosaic covenant. The high and holy aim of the fifty- 
 first psalm was exceptional. No doubt its author, as a bright 
 star before the sunrise, repented truly to the saving of his soul. 
 But it is scarcely likely that such an inward spiritual change as 
 is contemplated there, could have been understood, or 
 experienced in full, before CHRIST came. Temporal blessings 
 apart, the last word of the praying Church could only, then, 
 have been, " Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, for in 
 Thy sight shall no man living be justified." 
 
 1 See Liddon's Elements of Religion, lect. v. pp. 167, 168. 
 
 2 In Joel ii. 15, etc., though the assembly includes all classes, the 
 priests finally intercede. Solomon's dedication, however, does certainly 
 contemplate each Israelite's praying for himself, (i Kings viii. 38.) 
 
 3 Zech. xii. 10 (where, however, we are apt to find allusions to that 
 compunction which arises from contemplation of the Passion). 
 
 4 Hosea xiv. 2.
 
 54 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 Thus it was that the penitential yearnings of mankind was 
 satisfied by the Sacrifice of CHRIST the SON of GOD. " For 
 what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the 
 flesh, GOD, sending His own SON in the likeness of sinful flesh 
 and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh ; that the ordinance of 
 the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, 
 but after the Spirit." The more GOD'S love was revealed to 
 fallen man, the more impossible it proved for him to respond to 
 that, unless through a Representative of his race who should be 
 absolutely pure, as well as entirely willing to bear the punish- 
 ment which sinners had incurred. 1 This could be, and was, 
 effected by the self-oblation of One in whom sinless humanity 
 was united to the infinite power of Eternal Godhead. Here, 
 in the perfect Manhood, were obedience most exact and full, 
 self-surrender most generous to a cruel death : a spirit of 
 prayer such as the FATHER loved to answer, and even the 
 contrition which He will not despise. For CHRIST'S were the 
 sorrow and shame that only one innocent can offer, mourning 
 for others' sins, Himself impeccable. Here, again, in the 
 Eternal Godhead, was power to embrace the whole human 
 family, and to bring all mankind, as one, within the virtue of 
 His sacred Passion and redeeming Death. " A man dies for his 
 people, a king dies for his nation, but the highest of all mysteries 
 is that a GOD can die for GOD, and for that which He loves. 2 
 
 Some have ventured to speak of our Blessed LORD as 
 Himself a penitent. 3 In the sense they intended, this may be 
 true ; for did He not " bear our griefs and carry our sorrows ? " 
 His was the perfect contrition, because it was altogether un- 
 selfish, and the loving reparation which it offered to the 
 FATHER'S glory was unchecked by any memory of personal 
 disloyalty. Still, penitence is generally taken to be the punish- 
 ment of self for one's own sins ; and our Blessed LORD could 
 not be so punished, although, when on earth, He repeatedly 
 allowed Himself to be included among those who, in the popular 
 estimation, had that debt to pay. 4 On the contrary, both 
 
 1 See Ps. xl. 6-8 ; and Heb. vii. 26, 27. Also Heb. x. 
 
 ' See The Last Days and Words of Pere Gratry, pp. 73, 75, 
 
 3 For example, the late Dr. R. C. Moberly. 
 
 4 See, for instance, S. Matt. iii. 6 ; 13-15.
 
 The Development of Penitence, before and after Christ. 55 
 
 S. Peter and S. John insist strongly that in Him was no sin. 
 For indeed, if there had been, He was not perfect Man, the 
 union of His human nature with the Godhead could not exist, 
 and He was not the Saviour of the world. This difficulty has 
 been perceived by those who ascribe penitence to JESUS CHRIST; 
 but they think that, however certain it is that He never sinned, 
 He may yet have been conscious of capacities for sinning ; and 
 that He "judged sin, as a penitent judges it, within Himself." 1 
 No doubt, the devout mind of the eminent writer here quoted 
 will have succeeded in reconciling his theory with the absolute 
 and inviolable "truth" of the LORD'S moral attitude, throughout 
 His earthly condition. Yet, on the whole, it seems most prudent 
 not to adopt the theory. It is not Scriptural ; 2 it is liable to be 
 misunderstood : and one may doubt whether, even with safe- 
 guards, it can be received as strictly orthodox. 3 For our sakes, 
 JESUS was a Man of sorrows ; but in His soul's inner life the 
 Son of Man was "in heaven ;" holding in secure possession that 
 joy which His spotless purity derived from the influx of the 
 HOLY SPIRIT, every moment that He breathed. It was not as 
 a penitent that He appeared at the Transfiguration. Nor even 
 at the Jordan ; as His forerunner well knew, spite of appearances 
 to the contrary. 
 
 But what our LORD did was, by the infinite merits of His 
 atoning sacrifice, to make the penitence, which we owed, accept- 
 able. If He could not acknowledge actual guilt for sins which 
 He had not committed, He yet made them His own by the love 
 
 1 See Moberly's Atonement and Personality, p. no. 
 
 2 For we should remember that passages like Lamentat. i. 12 15, have 
 no proper, but only a secondary application to our Saviour. The Scrip- 
 tural language is, " GOD made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin on our 
 behalf." (2 Cor. v. 21.) 
 
 3 For instance, does it harmonise well with this of S. Leo ? " In 
 salvandis omnibus per crucem Christi communis erat voluntas Patris et 
 Filii ; nee ulla poterat ratione turbari quod ante aaterna saecula et 
 misericorditer erat dispositum, et incommutabiliter prasfinitum." There- 
 fore, says this Father, when JESUS prays that the Cup may pass from 
 Him, He assumes the voice of our nature, " et causam agit fragilitatis et 
 trepidationis humanse." S. Leo would certainly not have said that our 
 LORD felt within Him a capacity for declining the Cup. Possibly he 
 might have considered such an expression admissible, but he would not 
 have used it. (See S. Leo's 7th Sermon on the Passion.)
 
 56 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 and pity wherewith He embraced their consequences, suffering 
 these to be visited upon Himself. Not merely was He mani- 
 fested " in likeness of sinful flesh," 1 but being found in fashion 
 as a Man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto 
 death, even the death of the Cross. Yea, He bare our sins in 
 His own Body unto that tree ; and so, as the apostle feared not 
 to write, " GOD made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin on our 
 behalf, that we might become the righteousness of GOD in Him." 
 Here was that worthy and willing victim whom the consciences 
 of sinners had looked for, to present to a justly offended Maker. 
 Here was a love which took to itself not angels but the whole of 
 our fallen race. And here were that " power and wisdom of 
 GOD," without which not even our being able to " preach CHRIST 
 crucified " would have carried peace and salvation. 
 
 " The offering of CHRIST once made is perfect redemption, 
 propitiation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world, 
 both original and actual." 2 But it is more. " Therefore," He 
 said, " doth the FATHER love Me, because I lay down My life, 
 that I may take it again" Now, when He takes it again, He, 
 rising from the dead, bestows on His redeemed a new birth, and 
 a life unto sanctification through the Spirit. " I live, and ye 
 shall live." The new life in CHRIST is what Christians contem- 
 plate, at every moment of access by faith to the precious 
 doctrine of repentance. It is not merely that they hope for the 
 removal of a burden, or the cancelling of a sentence of wrath. 
 They hope, from the very first, for that wonderful inward renewal 
 which is to result, so we are told, in " the liberty of the glory of 
 the children of GOD." In short, penitence now takes its place 
 among the Christian sacraments, " extensions of the Incarna- 
 tion" and earnests of a blessed immortality. Christians repent- 
 ing have behind them the new birth in Baptism ; before them 
 are all the privileges of the holy Eucharistic Feast. 
 
 We should observe, that the Blessed Sacrament of CHRIST'S 
 Body and Blood, being the highest means of grace, and the 
 
 1 Rom. viii. 3. What our LORD assumed was merely 6/otoiw^a inasmuch 
 as the flesh which He wore had the same appearance as that which men 
 generally make the instrument of sin (<rdp anaprias,) but that it was real 
 human flesh is proved by i S. John iv. 2. (See Dr. Salmon's account of 
 Docetism, in Diet, of Christian Biography.) ' Art. xxxi.
 
 The Development of Penitence, before and after Christ. 57 
 
 sum of spiritual blessings has, itself also, a penitential aspect. 1 
 Chiefly, because in it we commemorate and continue the 
 oblation of the Lamb once slain for the sins of the whole 
 world. It is a thought common to some of the Fathers, and 
 to ancient Liturgies, that, in these mysteries, CHRIST is 
 presented as slain ; or, even, that He comes to submit anew to 
 a real, though not a carnal, mactation. 2 The language of our 
 Prayer Book is more guarded, but the meaning not far 
 different : for we speak of " continuing a perpetual memory of 
 that precious death," whereby He made (" by His one oblation 
 of Himself once offered "), " a full, perfect, and sufficient 
 sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole 
 world." The Church's intention, in assembling before the 
 Christian altar, is to plead for renewal of that pardon which 
 CHRIST has merited for us, of which we ever stand in need. 
 If CHRIST is really with us there if His living Flesh and 
 Blood are actually present it cannot be but that we shall find 
 in Him the open Fountain of Mercy. Whatever else our King 
 may be, in the majesty of His risen life, He is certainly still 
 the Saviour of sinners ; and where can we so truly be with Him 
 as here, in this Memorial which Himself makes, our Priest and 
 Advocate with the FATHER throughout all ages ? " I will not 
 leave you desolate ; I come to you." Surely the words are 
 fulfilled in Holy Communion, and to penitents, the " weary and 
 heavy laden," with a peculiar gracious completeness. 
 
 Prominent also, however, in Holy Communion is the idea 
 of reconciliation and restitution of privileges. Something like 
 that had been the intention of the Levitical peace-offerings, 
 when the people ate and drank before the LORD their GOD,"3 
 whose anger had been turned away by their repentance. The 
 
 1 This is missed by those who think that the end of man is to be 
 attained through purification of intellect only. " Clement's teaching con- 
 cerning the Holy Eucharist is singularly obscure." (Dr. Swete, Diet. Chr. 
 Biogr. " HOLY GHOST.") 
 
 2 Seethe Liturgy of S. James: triyrja-dru irdaa <rdp /Sporeta ... 6 yap 
 BacrtXeus . . . ^pitr-ros 6 6fbs 7]fj.&v Trpoepxerat ff(payia<r8Tji'ai Kal 5o0TJvai fts fipuaiv 
 TOIS iriffTots. See also the bold metaphor employed by S. Gregory Nazi- 
 anzen (Ep. clxxi., ad Amphilochium) : d\\' Si Seofff^ffrare, ^T] Kar6Kvft Kal 
 Trp<xrevxeff6ai Kal Trpefffiei'ieiv inrtp Tj/j-Qiv, OTO.V \6yia KaO^X/cys TOV A. 
 
 TO/U.T? ffCo/j-a Kal alfj.a refjiv 
 
 3 See Exod. xxiv. 5-12.
 
 58 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 terms of their covenant were by that token understood to be 
 renewed : " the LORD would feed them with the heritage of 
 Jacob their father ; for the mouth of the LORD had spoken it." 
 But the Christian's sacrificial Feast is no mere symbol or token : 
 no sign of temporal goods restored, but an actual participation 
 of union with the Divine life. " Draw near with faith, and 
 take this holy Sacrament to your comfort." The prodigal 
 returns from his wandering to be fed and refreshed by his 
 father's bounty : he receives the first robe, and a place of 
 honour at a splendid banquet. When that parable is explained, 
 the meaning is seen to be that Holy Communion not only seals 
 to the penitent his pardon, but satisfies his hunger with Bread 
 in which is everlasting life that great gift of which " the blood 
 of the Cross" was the price. 
 
 It is as impossible to separate the Divine forgiveness from 
 these eternal hopes flowing therefrom, as it is to make the 
 CHRIST who died a different person from Him who rose 
 again. One can see, then, what an immense flood of new light 
 the Cross has shed upon the old primeval doctrine of 
 repentance: how for each disquieting doubt there is now a 
 remedy, for each dim guess into the future there is now a 
 strong uplifting on the wings of dauntless confidence, whenever 
 the Name of JESUS is called to mind by Christian penitents. 
 Before, men trusted and yet hardly trusted that by sacrifices 
 duly offered they might obtain immunity from punishment, 
 a prolonging of days on the earth, victory over their enemies, 
 peaceful times. Since CHRIST came, they have known that He 
 who justifies, also glorifies ; that the shedding of that precious 
 Blood not only atones for sin, but sanctifies through the 
 Spirit ; not only sanctifies through the Spirit, but opens the 
 Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. 
 
 Corresponding to this change of view, the ancient sacrifices 
 have given place to that solemn commemoration of CHRIST'S 
 Death which, while undoubtedly retaining a penitential 
 character, is, as we have seen, to be regarded rather as the sum 
 of spiritual blessings and pledge of highest glory. It is, there- 
 fore, to Christians a sacrificium laudis : in its primary intention, 
 
 1 Isaiah Iviii. 14.
 
 The Development of Penitence, before and after Christ. 59 
 
 one with that oblation on Calvary which is their only confidence 
 of salvation, but yet most truly festal, and fit to be celebrated 
 with thankful and exulting hearts. Not a time, this, for 
 wearing sackcloth and putting ashes on the head. 1 Rather, by 
 a wise selection, rejoicing psalms have been thought suitable 
 for the sinner's approach to a reconciled GOD. 3 It seems 
 probable, indeed, that, in the beginning of the Christian Church, 
 the tendency was to forget the pain of penitence in the triumph 
 of our LORD'S Resurrection. So, at Jerusalem, as we read, 
 " they lifted up their voice to GOD with one accord ; " praising 
 Him for what " His hand and counsel had foreordained to be 
 done" in that city to His Holy Child JESUS, and confidently 
 intreating that CHRIST'S Death and Resurrection might be 
 followed by signs and wonders wrought through His Name. 
 And for several centuries how significant is this ! the regular 
 aim of Christian art was to exhibit JESUS as the Good 
 Shepherd, leading His flock to bright fields of Paradise. Not 
 yet was it thought desirable that, in every house of prayer 
 where knees were bowed in that dear Name, the most 
 conspicuous symbol should always be His bitter Cross, with 
 its memories of life laid down in anguish for our sakes laid 
 down innocent for us guilty, that we might be saved from 
 the darkness and despair of our helpless fall. 
 
 Could it be right for the Church to preserve always a 
 jubilant tone in her worship ? Certainly ; He had said to His 
 disciples, " Your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one 
 taketh away from you." And so far as the Holy Eucharist 
 comprises whatever is best in our approach to GOD through all 
 time, one would say that there never ought to be the least 
 abatement in the strain of high thanksgiving. " With angels 
 and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we 
 laud and magnify Thy glorious Name." It is true that the 
 Holy Eucharist represents the oblation on Calvary ; and the 
 oblation on Calvary fulfilled the types of the sin and burnt- 
 
 1 On all days of penitence and mourning the Greek Church uses only 
 the Mass of the Presanctified ; not the full Liturgy, because the consecra- 
 tion is a joyful act. (See Hefele, vol. ii. E.T. p. 320.) 
 
 z E.g., the 84th and 43rd psalms ; commonly recommended for use by 
 the celebrant.
 
 60 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 offerings, as well as the sacrifices of peace-offerings. But it is 
 also evident that, whereas in the Sacred Passion thanksgiving 
 was less prominent than propitiation, at the Christian altar 
 there is much less of pleading for the forgiveness of sins ; while 
 the Church puts all her force of love into that tribute of 
 praise, which neither man nor angel could bring at the time 
 when the crucifixion was enacted, but which we now confess to 
 be at all times " very meet, right, and our bounden duty." 
 
 But this cannot exhaust the whole obligation of penitence ; 
 even for those baptised into CHRIST'S Resurrection, and 
 walking in the light of the Easter sun. For we should 
 remember that, although the great Eucharistic oblation may 
 include in its loving purpose all mankind (as one would gather 
 from i Tim. ii. that it does 1 ), it is emphatically the offering of 
 the pure in heart ; and those who bring it must be, themselves, 
 in a state of grace. If rites of purification were enjoined on 
 GOD'S ancient people before they could renew the covenant by 
 sacrifice, much more must Christians take heed how they draw 
 near to the awful Table and Cup of the LORD. 2 " Let a man 
 prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of 
 the cup. For he that eateth and drinketh, eateth and drinketh 
 judgment unto himself, if he discern not the body. If ... 
 unworthily, he shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the 
 LORD." So, then, if any of CHRIST'S redeemed have fallen 
 into serious sin after baptism, though their desire is to return to 
 their LORD, and be fed at His Table, they cannot render this 
 duteous service without a previous cleansing of heart and 
 conscience. Unhappily, such lapses do occur. " If we say 
 that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves." There is still 
 grave risk that men might present themselves at GOD'S altar 
 lacking, as it were, the wedding-garment ; deserving rather of 
 His just judgment to be consigned to " the outer darkness." 
 
 It follows from what has been said, that penitence still 
 retains some of the features belonging to pre-Christian 
 
 1 See I Tim. ii. I : TrapaxaXw . . . iroier0at 57jcret$, . . . ei>xa/H<m'aj. i<vep 
 
 Trturwj' dvdpwirwj'. (Compare vv. 3 and 4.) 
 
 3 See i Cor. x. 14-22 : S. Chrysostom insists that communicants must 
 be " eagles," able to gaze on the glorified Trrdiaa. (Horn. xxiv. in 1 Cor.)
 
 The Development of Penitence, before and after Christ. 61 
 
 times : which are, indeed, unalterable, while we are mortal men, 
 liable to temptation, and prone to fall. We have traced the 
 wonderful progress of moral enlightenment ; we have seen the 
 conscience awakened by degrees to a sense of the holiness and 
 justice of Him who made us for Himself; and we have 
 marked the influence of fear, moving souls to discover some 
 vindictive penalty which might be accepted by Him as 
 atonement for the sinner. We saw that, in proportion to 
 worthier conceptions of GOD as a most loving FATHER, higher 
 hopes would be entertained of what His pardon might effect ; 
 and yet, that these in their turn would melt away before an 
 overwhelming shame and sorrow, equally the fruit of a clearer 
 perception of the purposes of GOD for man. Then came the 
 revelation of " peace with GOD, through our LORD JESUS 
 CHRIST," and by the Sacrifice of Calvary ; and we understood 
 how, through those unexhausted merits, pardon leads by a 
 straight course to sanctification, and a climax in eternal glory. 
 Yet, after every advance of Christian hope, the fact remains 
 that " all have sinned, and come short of the glory of GOD ; " 
 and the voices of the Hebrew prophets nay, even the 
 Levitical sacrifices have many lessons still to teach us. 
 
 We want something still, to answer to the prophet's 
 biddings to a national repentance (sadly neglected in our own 
 day) ; and, besides, we want individual cleansing from 
 particular faults, such as was aimed at by the ancient 
 ceremonies of the sin and trespass offering. Now these wants 
 are fully met by the intention of the Catholic Church. If at 
 the beginning there was too great eagerness to cultivate only 
 that " living hope " into which Christians were said to be 
 " begotten again by the resurrection of JESUS CHRIST from the 
 dead " as if they already held possession of the " inheritance 
 incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, which 
 was reserved for them in heaven " it was not long before they 
 settled down to a sober view of life's dangers and failures, and 
 gave again to penitence that important place which is demanded 
 for it by human infirmity. Our Book of Common Prayer 
 cannot with justice be accused of any neglect in this respect. 
 For the " two or three," or more, " gathered together in
 
 62 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 CHRIST'S Name," we have solemn Litanies and General 
 Confessions ; we have also days of obligation for all the 
 faithful Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. 1 For those who 
 desire cleansing from their own personal faults, we have 
 particular Confession and Absolution, besides plain teaching 
 on the duty of performing private self-examination, and praying 
 for forgiveness. These are not superseded by the Eucharistic 
 Sacrifice. Rather, although, in that, CHRIST'S Death is pleaded 
 for the world's forgiveness, we are first required, one by one, to 
 use the penitential exercises for our own souls' health, and then 
 to come " holy and clean, in the marriage-garment," where we 
 may offer for the Church at large. 
 
 Of what these exercises are, and the dispositions which 
 accompany them, something will be said in the following 
 chapters. For the present, let it suffice to have shown that 
 the penitence now advocated is, in most of its features, the 
 same which has been recognised by the thought and conscience 
 of man from the Fall downwards ; and that it still holds its 
 position, because it cannot be dispensed with. CHRIST indeed 
 has been manifested to " destroy the works of the devil ; " but 
 " we see not yet all things subjected to Him : " the battle still 
 rages, and the wounds received are many, even by those who 
 own no Master but the Crucified. Still, therefore, we kneel in 
 lowly self-abasement, like David ; and David's words are 
 become our own words, to be used at all penitential seasons. 
 
 On the other hand, since CHRIST came and died and rose 
 again, we have been made " sons of light ; " and the darkness 
 of our sorrow is illumined by the prospect of a glorious 
 deliverance. In nothing do we more confidently expect 
 guidance from the HOLY SPIRIT the Comforter, than the 
 drawing forth, as it were, into open day that " godly sorrow 
 
 1 Not that a nation's obligation to repent can be discharged by 
 reciting the Commination Service. We remember how Mr. Gladstone 
 strove to rouse his country to a more substantial penitence by restitution ; 
 but he failed to touch the British conscience. Nor can the freeing of 
 slaves in the last century be justly regarded as an act of reparation. It 
 would be another thing if one could see the Divorce Act repealed, and 
 the secularising of schools and universities put a stop to. Such 
 repentance would be costly indeed.
 
 The Development of Penitence, before and after Christ, 63 
 
 which worketh repentance unto salvation which bringeth no 
 regret." It is true that a soul penetrated with light from 
 above will experience more lively grief than would have been 
 attainable by the mere natural man : simply because no 
 Christian can banish from recollection his Master's bitter 
 Cross ; J so that, in all he does to excite contrition, he is moved 
 by the thought of those wounds, and that pain and shame so 
 freely borne for him. True, also, it is, that self-examination is 
 felt to have become a far graver task, when the conscience has 
 been submitted to His gaze, who both Himself knows " what 
 is in man," and by His Spirit enables us to search and try our 
 ways, with an insight like His own. But nothing of this kind 
 can hinder the fulfilment of gracious promises to all who 
 believe in CHRIST risen from the dead. " He is faithful and 
 righteous to forgive them their sins, and to cleanse them from 
 all unrighteousness." 
 
 Two points are noticeable, bearing on the growth of personal 
 responsibility in the use of penitence. He who has entered 
 into the new life in CHRIST has something more to do than to 
 bring ox or lamb to be slain, their blood for his own. He has 
 to learn and labour, that he may know and confess, may hate 
 and judge and renounce, his own sins. For GOD teaches our 
 hearts by sending the HOLY SPIRIT, and we cannot depute to 
 any of our brethren the task of cleansing us from our inward 
 leprosy. But yet, again, there is a human ministry to which 
 we may be led to have recourse, not for repentance, but for 
 reception of pardon when sins have been confessed. There 
 is a power of Absolution in the Catholic Church. This, also, 
 makes an increased responsibility in the treatment of sin under 
 the Gospel. The priest who absolves is charged with a real 
 commission, to remit, and to restore, in his Divine Master's 
 Name. 
 
 1 Compare those beautiful lines by Dr. Maclagan : 
 " Remember me, yet how canst Thou forget 
 
 What pain and anguish I have caused to Thee, 
 The Cross, the Agony, the Bloody Sweat, 
 
 And all the sorrow Thou didst bear for me ? "
 
 64 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Duty of Confession, from Holy Scripture. 
 
 THE large space which Confession has always occupied, both in 
 the doctrine and in the practice of repentance, requires that we 
 should give prominence to it in our thoughts at this stage of 
 the enquiry. 
 
 The importance attached to this word may strike one at first 
 with surprise. For, at least, it does not seem to be included 
 among the first-formed notions of turning from sin. When we 
 begin to reflect, nothing appears quite necessary except 
 that one should be convinced that he has done wrong, and 
 resolve to do so no more. The process has two stages only : it 
 begins in the heart, and is continued in the reformed life. So 
 long as there is moral improvement, what else can matter to the 
 world at large ? 
 
 One may soon see, however, that repentance does require 
 much more to make it satisfactory. Very probably the world 
 would be content with moral improvement, if that could be 
 secured by a solitary and secret effort of the will. But could 
 it? Suppose that the question is only about renouncing certain 
 vices or crimes, by which an individual has rendered himself 
 either a source of danger, or at least offensive and unpopular to 
 the community. Any one can see that his neighbours are not 
 likely to trust him unless they know what his intentions really 
 are. Else what is to prevent him from keeping back as much 
 of the price as he chooses cherishing a reserve of malice with 
 which to plot against their peace in some new way ? Whereas 
 if he speaks out and acknowledges his fault, the neighbours will 
 be able to quote his words against him if he tries to play them
 
 The Duty of Confession, from Holy Scripture. 65 
 
 false in the future. It is not a complete safeguard ; but 
 it is a great deal better than nothing. And then, too, 
 we may say that the public conscience exacts confession 
 from evil-doers. Society is determined to know whether 
 its suspicions were well-founded, and whether it has judged 
 perhaps punished the offender more or less than he 
 deserved. 
 
 We come next to the religious motive. I may here remind 
 the reader of what was said in the last chapter, that the more 
 we realise GOD as ever present, almighty and omniscient, holy, 
 full of compassion, and deserving both our fear and love, the 
 more we learn to hate and mourn over the sins that we have 
 done to His dishonour. But of such sorrow there must be out- 
 ward evidence. Confession, then, becomes an imperative 
 necessity. The inward grief must have an outlet. We confess, 
 because we could not do otherwise. And we feel that, although 
 the past cannot be undone, there is some slight reparation to 
 the wounded love of a heavenly FATHER when we enumerate 
 the details of our offence, by thought, word, and deed. 
 " Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done that which 
 is evil in Thy sight : that Thou mayest be justified when Thou 
 speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest." Rude as were the 
 people whom Joshua led, they could understand that it was 
 right and for " the glory of GOD," that Achan should make 
 solemn confession of his trespass. 
 
 Finally, the penitent is impelled to confess, if it were only 
 for his own safety and peace of mind. " Thy mouth hath 
 testified against thee" 1 is not always the precursor of doom. 
 Angels will tell hereafter of many a beloved charge of theirs, 
 how light and hope returned to his soul through the honest 
 voice of self-accusation. From that moment he knew him- 
 self, and knew the worst ; but he also knew that he had 
 renounced whatever could offend GOD. And thus the first 
 penitential acknowledgment leads on to that other confession, 
 which is of thanksgiving, to Him who both "heareth the 
 prayer," and " forgiveth all thy sin." 2 
 
 1 See 2 Sam. i. 16. 
 
 - See Ps. xxx. 13; liv. 6; Ixvi. 14, 15; cvi. i.; and especially cvii. 
 
 F
 
 66 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 With this short introduction, we should be prepared to 
 consider the Scriptural teaching. 
 
 What we commonly find there described is an acknowledg- 
 ment publicly made before GOD, and before a number of people; 
 agreeing either with some charge that others had laid, or with 
 the sincere but hitherto unspoken conviction of a man's own 
 heart. In the latter event, there need be no shame in the 
 avowal. To confess, may be to declare faith in CHRIST, 
 whether with 1 or without 2 circumstances of danger. In the 
 Psalms it is constantly used of proclaiming the Divine goodness 
 and mercy. Confessio aut laudantis est aut pcenitentis. There 
 is not, of necessity, a penitential ring in any of the three words 
 commonly employed in the LXX. 3 In the New Testament, 
 however, in the most famous passages, the confession intended 
 is clearly an acknowledgment of sins, by him who committed 
 them/ There is no invariable rule that others should stand by, 
 accusing, though this often happens. The indispensable thing 
 is, that the sinner should be accused by his own conscience. 
 In one well-remembered instance these conditions were 
 reversed. S. Paul, certainly, was not stricken in conscience 
 when he admitted to Felix that he had chosen that way of 
 worship which "the Jews called heresy." s Rather, that was 
 a specimen of the apostle's " boasting " in CHRIST. Neverthe- 
 less he was meeting an accusation. In spite of the irony of 
 his ono\oyu, S. Paul did then acknowledge a charge brought 
 against him by his countrymen, on matters of common com- 
 plaint among them ; and he did this solemnly, as before 
 a Divine as well as an earthly judge. 
 
 Almost without exception, the instances are of open, audible 
 
 1 S. Matt. x. 32. 5 Rom. x. 10. 
 
 3 ^ofjLo\oye~iff6at, ^>ryeZ(r0ai, ^ayopevfiv. But no negative argument can be 
 founded upon this. The words bear comprehensive meanings, " to 
 acknowledge " or "to declare," and are therefore not unsuitable to a man 
 in whose mouth are the praises of GOD. But they are equally appropriate 
 for confessing sins. As we go on, we shall see that the signs and utter- 
 ances of penitence are more abundant in the Old Testament, than in the 
 New. Confession is, however, only a part of the service which our 
 mouths must render to their Maker. 
 
 4 S. Matt. iii. 16 ; Acts xix. 18; S. James v. 16; i S. John i. 9. 
 s Acts xxiv. 14.
 
 The Duty of Confession, from Holy Scripture. 67 
 
 confession. 1 Of course, there may be an utterance which is 
 silent to all except GOD, who " knoweth the very secrets of the 
 heart." Habet aures jDeus, habet et sonum cor. Interiora tua 
 nunquam deest qui audiat? But that does not seem to have 
 been much contemplated at the beginning, and GOD'S people 
 evidently thought it more simply natural that the voice should 
 be employed. " With the mouth confession is made," alike by 
 innocent and guilty. That is certainly the way recognised in 
 Holy Scripture. 
 
 There can be no doubt that public confession was practised 
 under the Law of Moses ; (though the repentance, which it 
 was meant to declare, is indicated better by the context, 
 than by the particular words used for confessing). If the 
 instances are not very frequent, there are enough to illustrate 
 a rule of conduct which must have been thoroughly under- 
 stood. Sometimes we see the whole congregation of Israel 
 suppliants with their spokesman ; as on the day of atonement, 
 when the high priest, pressing both hands on the head of 
 a live goat, made solemn confession of the iniquities of 
 the people. Sometimes, besides this annual ceremonial 
 cleansing, there would be special acts of self-abasement, 
 with deprecation of the Divine displeasure, in which many 
 took part ; as, for instance, at Joel's " solemn assembly," or 
 during the mission of Ezra, after the exile. Or when, at the 
 bidding of another prophet, there comes a voice of wide-spread 
 lamentation, " Our transgressions are multiplied before Thee, 
 and our sins testify against us ... in transgressing and 
 denying the LORD, and turning away from following our GOD, 
 speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from 
 the heart words of falsehood." 3 But the GOD of Israel is 
 " plenteous in mercy, and repenteth Him of the evil." There- 
 
 1 Every instance, that is, where the word " confession " is used. The 
 word does not occur in the Prayer of Manasses, (which has had much 
 Catholic acceptance, and is familiar to many of us through Bishop 
 Andrewes' Devotions;) nor is there anything to show whether that was 
 offered privately, or before witnesses (nor any certainty whether it was 
 actually composed by the captive king). 
 
 2 S. Aug. (Enarrat. in Ps. cii. 2). 
 
 3 See Ezra x; Joel ii ; Isaiah lix. 12, etc.
 
 68 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 fore His servants urge and intreat the people to " take with 
 them words, and return unto the LORD." " He that covereth 
 his sins shall not prosper, whoso confesseth and forsaketh them 
 shall have mercy." 1 
 
 Thus the tradition is handed down, till there comes a crisis 
 in Israel's repentance, through the preaching of the great Fore- 
 runner. " For now is the axe laid unto the root of the trees ; 
 every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn 
 down, and cast into the fire." So Jerusalem and all Judaea go 
 out to John, "and are baptised of him in Jordan, confessing 
 their sins." Their response to his mission is made by this 
 clearly -spoken proof of the national disposition towards 
 penitence. That could only be genuine, if the confession were 
 followed by amendment of life, and resort to the Saviour. Still, 
 the words were good words. " All the people . . . justified 
 GOD, being baptised with the baptism of John." 
 
 In considering confession as it meets us in the Old Testa- 
 ment, we have to travel back to a time when Israel was a "holy 
 people,' chosen out of all the families of the earth, and conse- 
 crated by the observance of a moral code delivered from heaven. 
 It is easy to see how the peculiar separation and consecration 
 of Abraham's seed would lead to a special dread of sin and its 
 consequences ; which might not always restrain offenders, but 
 would at least dispose them to sorrow and fear after the wrong 
 was done. Whether the person to remind them were law-giver 
 or king, prophet or priest, there would always be the same 
 argument from Israel's unique position and privileges. No 
 other nation owed so much to the GOD of their fathers : none 
 were united by so close a bond of fellowship among themselves. 
 That is the reason why so very much of the language of the 
 Old Testament is penitential, and why confession was at all 
 times to the Jews such a familiar thought and habit. " We 
 have sinned with our fathers : we have done amiss, and dealt 
 wickedly." Yet we saw that, although the whole of the chosen 
 people are commonly represented as guilty of the same sin in 
 forsaking GOD, the corporate acts of penitence are rare, except 
 in some remarkable instances already quoted. But what keep 
 
 1 Prov. xxviii. 13.
 
 The Duty of Confession, from Holy Scripture. 69 
 
 up the tradition are the fervent intercessions of saints, from 
 Moses to Jeremiah; whose personal earnestness is the more 
 striking, because they, for the most part, stand forth as solitary 
 figures. " Though our iniquities testify against us, work Thou 
 for Thy Name's sake, O LORD : for our backslidings are many: 
 we have sinned against Thee. O Hope of Israel, the Saviour 
 thereof in the time of trouble, why shouldest Thou be as a 
 sojourner in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth 
 aside to tarry for a night ? Why shouldest Thou be as a man 
 astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save ? Yet Thou, O 
 LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by Thy Name ; 
 leave us not." So pleads the most compassionate of prophets ; 
 but no voice joins with his, no brother stays up his hands when 
 they are heavy, no human heart enters into the passion of his 
 grief. Yet he continues to plead, as if all Israel had spoken by 
 his mouth. 1 
 
 That is the aspect under which the penitence of the ancient 
 Jewish Church is presented to us. The confessions are rarely 
 unanimous : more often the prophet alone humbles himself, 
 while the people sin on, and show no concern. Still the tone, 
 whenever we hear it, is very sorrowful, humble, and loving. 
 Then, when individuals confess their own personal misdeeds, 
 apart from the national backslidings, there is the same sorrow 
 expressed towards GOD. But we find them also owning in this 
 way to injuries done to their neighbours ; so that the public 
 confession almost serves the purpose of a reparation made to 
 the tribes of Israel. David accuses his own pride, that has 
 brought a pestilence upon his subjects : Achan is forced to 
 acknowledge that by his grievous fault the armies of Jehovah 
 have suffered defeat. The Law requires that " when a man 
 or a woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a 
 trespass against the LORD, and that soul be guilty ; then they 
 shall confess their sin which they have done; and he shall make 
 restitution for his guilt in full, and add unto it the fifth part 
 thereof, and give it unto him in respect of whom he hath been 
 guilty." 2 The congregation come together not merely to abase 
 themselves before an offended GOD, but sometimes as them- 
 1 Another striking instance is in Daniel ix. 2 Numbers v. 6, 7.
 
 jo The Use of Penitence. 
 
 selves trespassed against, that the sinner may make them such 
 public amends as are due. 
 
 This may suffice for a brief review of confession under " the 
 Law and the prophets," before "the Kingdom of GOD" had been 
 preached at CHRIST'S coming. As ^we have seen, there were 
 special causes for its prominence among the Jews. It was 
 impossible that such a duty could be neglected by the one 
 favoured nation, the " first-born " of Jehovah. " You only have 
 I known of all the families of the earth : therefore I will visit 
 upon you all your iniquities." 1 
 
 Yet the exceptional position of GOD'S ancient people was 
 not absolutely required as a plea for confession ; nor even 
 necessary to make a public owning of sins appear just and 
 reasonable. That institution would agree with popular notions 
 of what was fitting, in any country, during the earlier stages of 
 its national life. Particularly one may say this with regard to 
 reparation to the family or tribe. When society is in its infancy, 
 the punishment of evil-doers is a matter to be dealt with at 
 solemn assemblies, and on holy ground : the " secular arm " is 
 too feeble and capricious in its movements, to be trusted. A 
 public conscience, however, exists, and to this offenders are 
 made responsible when the congregation calls them to account. 
 Indeed, our LORD Himself seems to approve of some such 
 arrangement, in that famous passage in S. Matthew xviii., 
 where He lays down rules of discipline. "If thy brother sin, 
 go, show him his fault between thee and him alone : if he hear 
 thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he hear thee not, 
 take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two 
 witnesses or three every word may be established. And if he 
 refuse to hear thee, tell it unto the Church ; and if he refuse to 
 hear the Church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and 
 the publican. Verily I say unto you, What things soever ye 
 shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what things 
 soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again 
 I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as 
 touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them 
 of My FATHER which is in heaven. For where two or three 
 
 1 Amos iii. 2.
 
 The Duty of Confession, from Holy Scripture. 71 
 
 are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of 
 them." We have to notice here the merciful intention to lead 
 the erring by gentle means to repentance, or if not, to correct 
 him by a salutary exclusion or excommunication ; but that is 
 not all. The thing most to be desired is that he should " hear 
 the Church ; " if he will do that, all will be well. But surely 
 our LORD contemplates a hearing by the Church also an 
 authoritative hearing and judging of the criminal, by those to 
 whom a fault must be laid open, by information based on con- 
 fession, before they can state the Church's decision upon it. 
 We seem to see the officers of a Christian community coming 
 together and "agreeing" what they should ask of GOD, to guide 
 them in this business. Indeed it is hardly necessary that they 
 should be Christians, for this. The principle of having "two or 
 three " to witness would be well known to those bred under the 
 Law. What one should rather say is that this whole passage is 
 in harmony with a simple maxim of conduct everywhere 
 intelligible that sinners should come to the light and show 
 their deeds, if they would have peace with GOD and man. We 
 may say that CHRIST by what He here enjoined gave to those 
 simple ideas a Catholic authority. 
 
 However, if the doctrine be universal, it is also very 
 particularly the doctrine of the New Testament, intended for 
 us as Christians. Public confession has the sanction of various 
 apostles. S. James enjoins it : S. John promises forgiveness 
 to those who practise it. 1 S. Paul received many who came 
 for this purpose at Ephesus. Let there be no uncertainty as 
 to its having had apostolic authority. That may be unwelcome 
 news to some who profess horror at the least suggestion of 
 telling sins in the hearing of others. But we are not yet 
 considering what is expedient under modern conditions. The 
 fact stands, that confessions were so made, and New Testament 
 writers approve of their being made. There is no more doubt 
 about the openness of the transaction, than there is that the 
 people, who heard, used to pray for those who thus " opened 
 
 1 S. James v. 16 will require no comment. Of i S. John i. 9, Bishop 
 Westcott says, it means that we should " acknowledge our sins openly in 
 the face of men."
 
 72 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 their grief." Here was a regular exercise of the charity which 
 " beareth one another's burdens." 1 It was a custom which 
 gave no offence, so long as the terms of Christian intercourse 
 were simple and unconstrained. 
 
 Indeed, the more one reflects on those old ways, the more 
 natural and proper they appear to have been, while they could 
 be carried out?' " Confess your faults one to another, and pray 
 one for another, that ye may be healed." What other course 
 would have been so right ? When wrong has been done, and 
 the facts are proved, surely the culprit who still obstinately 
 hides or " covers " his fault cannot " prosper." He will know 
 that he is acting a lie, and his heart will grow harder, his mood 
 more sullen, each day that he persists. In these modern times 
 there might be other ways open to him. He might surrender 
 himself to justice if he had committed a crime punishable by 
 law of the realm. Or, for secret sin, he might resort either to 
 auricular confession, or to that unspoken sort, to which allusion 
 was made before. 3 But, whatever may be said for these newer 
 ways and there is much none of them can be called quite so 
 simple and natural as the more ancient/* For " none of us 
 liveth to himself:" we "live unto the LORD" first, and after 
 that, to a great extent, for the community, though always " in 
 the LORD." Now, nearly every sin that men commit may be, 
 directly or indirectly, an " occasion of falling " to others ; and, 
 therefore, it is for the community, by regulations of their own, 
 made in the fear of GOD, to punish or to spare, to cast out or 
 to restore offenders of nearly every class. But if they restore 
 offenders, it will be because they have been moved by their 
 
 1 See Galat. vi. i, 2 : i Cor. v. 2 ; 2 Cor. ii. 6-8. 
 
 2 So S. Augustine (Ep. cliii. 10), " Has sibi partes humanitatis, ubi 
 potest, omnis homo apud hominem vindicat." (He is commenting on 
 S. James v. 16.) 
 
 3 How strange the ancient world thought it for any one to think, 
 pray, or read for long without speaking aloud, is curiously illustrated in 
 S. Augustine's Confessions, book vi. 3. After noting S. Ambrose's habit 
 of reading to himself as extraordinary, he thinks that the inducement 
 must have been either to save his voice, which was weak, or to avoid 
 being questioned about his reading. 
 
 4 No praise is hereby intended of the barbarous discipline, which 
 used to follow confession in the Primitive Church.
 
 The Duty of Confession, from Holy Scripture. 73 
 
 honest and full confession ; made first, of course, before GOD 
 and holy angels, but also spoken out in face of the aggrieved 
 neighbours themselves. The intercession of the latter, so 
 precious in GOD'S sight, derives its loving earnestness from 
 consideration of the others' faults as revealed, together with 
 pity induced by their manifest sorrow. Then it is that " if one 
 member suffer, all the members suffer with it." 1 
 
 This, then, is Christian doctrine. We ought not to say that 
 the subject comes often to the front in that shape, in the New 
 Testament. The former covenant, which " beareth children 
 unto bondage," is naturally more concerned with sin's abase- 
 ment, than " our mother," the free and heavenly Jerusalem. 
 The contrast is striking, if we turn from a lamentation like that 
 in Isaiah lix., quoted above, to where the baptised in fire at 
 Pentecost are met together for prayer. These are no longer the 
 guilty beseeching for pardon, but the elect of GOD, confidently 
 pleading that signs and wonders may be done " through the 
 Name of Thy holy servant JESUS." But still, the time would 
 come when penitential assemblies must have their turn, and in 
 the apostolic writings we are able to trace the spirit in which 
 they were conducted. 
 
 To confess publicly would be the instinct of a youthful 
 people. After a time public confession was discontinued, for 
 good and sufficient reasons. There is no need in this chapter 
 to pursue the history to a day later than that of the apostles. 
 We shall come in the next three to what soon became the 
 practice of the Primitive Church. But one can see already 
 some of the reasons for changing. First, the increasing 
 number of sins, secret as well as notorious, which would 
 require attention as the Church grew older. This must have 
 been the principal cause of the change. It is easy to 
 understand how, as their number increased, an indispensable 
 reserve would incline public opinion towards withdrawal 
 
 1 This, as we shall see, was made a great point of by the Fathers. 
 So Tertullian (De Pccn. x.), " Condoleat universum corpus, et ad remedium 
 conlaboret." And S. Ambrose (De Pccn. ii. 10), " Fleat pro te Mater 
 Ecclesia, et culpam tuam lacrymis lavet." And in the Apostolical 
 Constitutions, ii. 41, we find the direction, travTuv virep ain-ov
 
 74 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 from the crowd. Another reason, applicable to all com- 
 munities that have advanced beyond the early stage, is the 
 improved administration of justice in secular courts. For 
 instance, the Christians were forced to bring all sorts of causes 
 into their spiritual courts at first, not only while the Emperor's 
 judges were heathens, as in S. Paul's time, 1 but even after 
 Constantine, because the executive was so feeble and incom- 
 petent. 2 One can understand how it was that many matters 
 were then submitted by voluntary confession to the bishops, 
 which, under a stronger rule, would have been the business of 
 the praetors. But afterwards, when a mighty prince like 
 Justinian, or Charlemagne, aspired to preside over all causes, 
 ecclesiastical as well as civil, it became inevitable that the 
 Church's forum externum would be little frequented. The 
 paternal authority of elders, " sitting in the gate," has to be 
 superseded. The sinner of a later civilisation is no longer 
 treated like a naughty child, corrected with stripes at first, and 
 then received back to loving embraces. These are not now 
 the legitimate consequences of membership in Holy Church. 
 Add to these a third reason, which is supported by the high 
 authority of Hooker. Public confession is best, he says, so 
 long as Christians have not left their first love, and while they 
 are bound by a common sense of danger in persecution. But 
 as a matter of fact, when peace returned with Constantine, the 
 love of Christians quickly grew cold ; " faults were not 
 corrected in charity, but noted with delight ; schisms and 
 discords prevailed everywhere ; it seemed requisite that 
 
 1 See i Cor. vi. i. In the first century, A.D., "the Roman administra- 
 tion maintained a very small staff of officials : public safety was not 
 properly attended to " ..." the Christian Church necessarily enacted 
 laws for itself." (See Prof. Ramsay's Church in Rom. Emp. pp. 373, 177.) 
 
 - The punishments were often cruel, and the churches were resorted 
 to for sanctuary. The yth (otherwise 8th) Canon of Sardica, A.D. 343, 
 enacts that, whereas " it often happens that persons in need of mercy, 
 who on account of their crimes have been sentenced to transportation, 
 or are bound by some other sentence, take refuge in the church, they 
 must not be denied help, but without scruple or hesitation (&vev TOV 
 duTTaffai) petition shall be made for their pardon." (See Hefele, E.T. vol. 
 ii. p. 136.) Theodoret speaks of horrible tortures inflicted by judges at 
 the bidding of Arians.
 
 The Duty of Confession, from Holy Scripture. 75 
 
 voluntary penitents should surcease from open confession." 1 
 However this may have been, it appears certain that the public 
 method will generally be abandoned, so soon as it ceases to be 
 required for the restitution or discipline of public offenders. 
 
 Then, more and more, do the best uses of confession begin 
 to be understood ; for which publicity is in no way essential. 
 No publicity is required for maintaining the glory of Almighty 
 GOD in conflict with man's transgression. It is true that 
 the Hebrew prophets would loudly contrast the Divine 
 truth with Israel's obstinate folly and ingratitude. True 
 also that Achan is said to have made open avowal of his 
 guilt, " giving glory to GOD," before the assembled tribes ; 
 since Achan's crime had involved all Israel in disgrace, and all 
 Israel had to be assured that there was a cause for what GOD 
 had done to punish it. But " all GOD'S works praise Him," 
 and His Providence requires no defence from sinful man. 
 What really glorify GOD are the sincerity and lowliness of 
 heart with which penitents own the truth of what GOD has long 
 laid to their charge. Over these, angels rejoice ; and yet He 
 needs not even the witness of angels. 
 
 Nor has it ever been necessary, because it was not possible, 
 to obtain a public pardon for every sort of wrong done to a 
 society of Christian people. It is quite true that most sins 
 that a man commits are injurious to those around, among 
 whom he walks ; but very often the mischief is too indirect for 
 a straightforward avowal to be made, while for direct wrong- 
 doing, as by fraud, robbery, or slander, law-suits are the usual 
 resource in civilised and well-governed countries. Or again, 
 when amends are to be made without the legal process, our 
 LORD'S rule is, "If thy brother hath ought against thee, go 
 and be reconciled to him, and then come and offer thy gift." 
 At the altar of offering he would find himself by the side of 
 priest and congregation ; but the confession (if under the 
 Church's sanction), would have been made before that, 
 elsewhere, and very possibly in private. There are, still, rare 
 cases occurring, in which a single crime has so outraged the 
 public feeling of a district, that all will insist on its being 
 1 See Hooker (book vi. chap. iv. 3).
 
 76 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 acknowledged, before death overtakes the wretched criminal : 
 as if a reproach had to be wiped off from the neighbourhood, 
 or almost from the nation itself. 1 But the chief thought now, 
 among Christians, is of confessing to GOD only ; and the great 
 aim of Christian teaching has ever been to show how the 
 Divine forgiveness turns upon this, and is accessible to this, 
 though men may harden their hearts. " The LORD is full of 
 compassion and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in 
 mercy. He will not always chide, neither will He keep His 
 anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor 
 rewarded us after our iniquities. For as the heaven is high 
 above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear 
 Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He 
 removed our transgressions from us." To the psalmist who 
 composed that thanksgiving perhaps the return of Israel from 
 exile would be nearly all that was intended by the removal 
 " from east to west." But to a Christian there is much more in 
 the words than that. 2 They describe the restoration of life and 
 peace to a forgiven penitent, brought home to the kingdom 
 of grace and hope of eternal glory. All of which it is the 
 Christian's privilege to believe, since, through the shedding of 
 the precious Blood, we have had " an Advocate with the 
 FATHER, JESUS CHRIST the righteous." 
 
 Still, we must allow that the idea of direct access to Him 
 need not have been obscured by the public avowal, and 
 probably was not ; although less easy, so, to be seized and 
 retained. And surely there is a loss, now that we can no longer 
 have the tender sympathy of a number of charitable people, 
 praying for some poor soul whose sad tale of wickedness they 
 have just heard.s The audience would not always be hard- 
 
 1 Not long ago in England, in sentencing one guilty of an atrocious 
 series of murders (a foreigner), the judge is reported to have observed, 
 " The only consolation is that you are not an Englishman " or words to 
 that effect. 
 
 * "The Psalm" (io3rd), "anticipates the spirit of the New Testament. 
 It furnishes fit language of thanksgiving for the greater blessing of a 
 more marvellous redemption than that of Israel from Babylon." (Dr. 
 Kirkpatrick's Commentary on the Psalms in the Cambridge Bible.) 
 
 3 Compare Sozomen's History, book vii. chap. 16: "The bishop 
 conducts the ceremony, and prostrates himself with the penitents, weep-
 
 The Duty of Confession, from Holy Scripture. 77 
 
 hearted and scornful. We all remember the touching picture 
 of the faithful at Milan, weeping in compassion for their great 
 emperor, whom a fearless bishop had enjoined to " repent like 
 David, since he had sinned like David." And yet it is not 
 absolutely necessary that our intercessions should be inspired 
 by a knowledge of our neighbour's failings ; and there is some- 
 thing beautiful in our Anglican custom of praying "Spare Thou 
 them, O GOD, which confess their faults," though we cannot tell 
 what those faults have been. 
 
 On the whole, both losses and gains have resulted to the 
 Church through discontinuance of public penitence. 1 But the 
 change to private or auricular confession has been found 
 expedient for many reasons. It suits the existing conditions of 
 society very much better than what it displaced. And its 
 advantages are obvious. We are spared much pain and shame, 
 we avoid the giving of scandal, we preserve modesty, and we 
 enjoy the benefit of our hearer's whole attention, granted 
 exclusively to our case. Nor can this way be fairly called 
 unscriptural. For surely, our Saviour's words, "If thy brother 
 sin, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone," are full 
 authority for, though they do not exactly describe, the fashion 
 of confession as we know it. The point of difference is, only, 
 that our LORD makes the hearer take the initiative, instead of 
 the penitent ; so that the fault, in this case, could not have been 
 altogether unknown before confession. 2 
 
 But we must be prepared for objections. Some will ask 
 why, if public confession is given up, auricular should be the 
 
 ing. And all the people burst into tears, and groan aloud. Afterwards 
 the bishop raises up the prostrate " etc. 
 
 1 The public confession has not been lost everywhere ; at least, a 
 quasi-public penitence was long retained in religious communities. " It 
 was ever his practice" [S. Vincent's] "to humble himself by a public 
 confession of everything, ever so small, in which he was conscious of 
 being wrong, and he would kneel down before the lowest of his inferiors 
 to ask pardon for the least shadow of a fault." (Life of S. Vincent de 
 Paul, by Mrs. R. F. Wilson, p. 218.) 
 
 2 The incident in S. John viii. 3-12 may also have been intended as an 
 example to the Church. The accused is first rescued from a concourse 
 of cruel denouncing tongues ; and then, when " JESUS was left alone, and 
 the woman where she was, in the midst," the merciful Judge " lifts up 
 Himself," and speaks.
 
 78 The Use of Penitence, 
 
 alternative. Why not leave a man to make peace with GOD in 
 his own way, without interference ? Now, of course, if every 
 sort of spoken confession is to be barred, there is nothing left to 
 discuss, and our enquiry must end. And yet this independence 
 has a good side. It deserves higher praise than to be called 
 a mark of the stiff-necked Anglo-Saxon, or a feature of the 
 immovable self-control which goes with culture and refinement. 
 For, surely, a Christian who has ;< put on the whole armour of 
 GOD " ought to feel that he is already provided with the best 
 protection. The enemy may wound him still, but he is more 
 manly if he refrains from showing his wounds, or putting him- 
 self into hospital for a hurt that he should bear in silence. Let 
 him rather learn to walk more circumspectly and redeem the time. 
 
 What is our answer to this ? That, while holding in much 
 respect the English reserve about personal religion, we still 
 think that it may be carried too far ; and that to confess one's 
 sins before a duly qualified hearer is, not indeed of obligation, 
 but perfectly right and prudent at certain times. 
 
 There are three reasons for this : three things in its favour. 
 The first, because of the connection of confession with Absolu- 
 tion ; which must be left till we have made more way with our 
 subject. It is the chief reason of all, but we are not ready for 
 it yet. 
 
 The second is, for the avoiding of self-deceit. Whatever 
 form repentance may assume, we must not encourage a " blind- 
 ness of heart " from which we of the English Church pray ever 
 to be delivered. Reserve is excellent in its proper place ; but 
 may there not be a danger, that behind those lips so jealously 
 closed there is no honest arraigning of self before GOD, in any 
 shape ? Are not sins persisted in sometimes, because they are 
 not brought even into the private forum of conscience ? or 
 because though brought there to be judged, they are not 
 rightly understood, the delinquent never hearing them called 
 by their right names ? Sometimes these are very private fail- 
 ings : sometimes neighbours suspect their existence, and will 
 say so to a third person, though not, unfortunately, to the 
 person suspected. Whichever way it is, there can be no doubt 
 that many live either in a state of false peace, or of inward
 
 The Duty of Confession, from Holy Scripture. 79 
 
 distress which is utterly fruitless of amendment. How much 
 better it would be we have said this once before to bear the 
 pain of a truthful accusation of self! No one who has not tried 
 it can tell how the clouds of self-deceit roll away, directly the 
 sound of one's own voice is heard, uttering the plain English of 
 what a sin has been. 1 Still less can it be known, without trial, 
 how immense the relief when one feels that a false disguise had 
 been stripped off, and we have ceased to shun the gaze of an 
 Almighty yet most merciful FATHER ! 
 
 There is one more reason still. Auricular confession gives 
 opportunities for taking advice, which were not available with 
 the public penitence, 2 and which the most reserved of Christians, 
 on the other hand, ought not to despise. If it is true that the 
 soul's constant and universal need is supplied by an ever-present 
 Divine Comforter, it is none the less certain that, on extra- 
 ordinary occasions, even the wisest and strongest may require 
 human comfort. The spirit most calm and patient under 
 " buffeting for its faults " will be refreshed, if it may lay its 
 burden now and then on the faithful shoulders of a friend. 
 And such a friend might be any discreet and pious Christian ; 
 so long as he was enabled to speak through the faults having 
 been confessed in his hearing, together with the temptations 
 which led to their commission. 3 
 
 1 " Plain English " is of all things least acceptable to the irresolute. 
 Sir Walter Scott, in Rcdgauntlet, makes one say who had fallen very low, 
 yet was by no means destitute of good feeling, " I think my confession 
 would sound better in Latin ! " 
 
 2 That is, we cannot be sure they were. The penitentiaries (of whom 
 something will be said hereafter) must have counselled their penitents ; 
 but hardly at the times when they were making confession in the 
 Church. 
 
 3 The comparative value of the two sorts of confession will be more 
 clearly seen later on, when we have gone through a short study of the 
 historical development of the two systems. It is likely, however, that 
 most of us will come to the same conclusion as M. Frangois Coppee, 
 who says, (La Bonne Sonffrance, p. 253), " Quel courage il fallait, au 
 Chretien des temps heroiques, alors qu' agenouille devant ses freres, il 
 declarait humblement ses fautes et en demandait pardon ! Disons-le 
 tout bas. C'eiait trop beau. Nous ne somme plus dans les catacombes 
 de Rome, et 1'Eglise a tres sagement fait d'instituer 1'aveu secret, d'exiger 
 de celui qui le re9oit la discretion absolue, et de placer le prtre dans 
 1'ombre du confessional."
 
 8o The Use of Penitence. 
 
 In the next chapter, an endeavour will be made to show 
 how in ancient times the punishment of offenders was rigorously 
 enforced, till, by degrees, the system was adapted to the gentler 
 principles which began to prevail ; how the Church was obliged 
 to appoint men duly qualified to act as guides of individual 
 souls ; and how some such provision for obtaining ghostly 
 counsel is still requisite, not merely for the sin-laden in their 
 private difficulties and temptations, but also for those desirous 
 of living the higher life in CHRIST.
 
 On the Primitive Ecclesiastical Methods of Repentance. 81 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTERS V. AND VI. 
 
 On the Primitive Ecclesiastical Methods of Repentance. 
 
 SOME doubt may be felt as to whether so large and difficult 
 a subject as the primitive penance has any proper place in a 
 small book like this. Those who wish to know about it have 
 ready access to Hooker, Thorndike, Bingham, the English 
 translation of Pelliccia, or Smith's Dictionary of Christian 
 Antiquities. Whereas, our own argument cannot be much 
 affected by variations of discipline in the Primitive Church. 
 Nor is it very necessary that missionaries, especially, should 
 know what those old customs were, who have before them the 
 present and perpetual spiritual needs of human nature, and 
 look ever to the mercy which has drawn near to supply them, 
 through the Incarnation of a Divine Saviour. 
 
 Yet it is important to show that confession and absolution 
 have been in the Church from the beginning. Important and 
 interesting to see the penitential features already stamped on 
 that heroic little family that " went through fire and water," 
 and so to their " wealthy place," when the sword of the 
 persecutor had been sheathed at last. But in order to do this, 
 some principal landmarks must be noted. And, among other 
 things to be observed, we shall see how ancient history throws 
 light on the distinction of sins by their gravity a distinction 
 which we find preserved in our Book of Common Prayer. 
 
 Protestants and Roman Catholics still differ greatly in the 
 construction which they place, not merely on particular facts 
 handed down, but on the whole intention of primitive penitence. 1 
 
 1 Thus from America has arisen a Protestant champion of the 
 heaviest calibre in the person of Dr. H. C. Lea (Hist, of Auricular Con-
 
 82 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 Protestants, for the most part, contend that 
 
 (1) Confessions of sins, when required by the Church in 
 early times, were always made in public, because they were 
 addressed to the congregation : and were not, therefore, con- 
 fessions to God. 
 
 (2) They were an integral part of the penal discipline 
 which followed : therefore, had nothing to do with the hearfs 
 conversion to God. 
 
 (3) Those who had completed their canonical penance were 
 restored to communion by the people, acting with and through 
 their bishop. This was still an exercise of congregational 
 discipline : therefore, there was no sacramental absolution from 
 the sins confessed. 
 
 (4) When private confession began, it was not followed 
 by absolution : therefore, nothing like the present system was 
 known. 
 
 All these four conclusions are disputable, though there is 
 not quite evidence enough to disprove (3) and (4). The fourth 
 may be true so far as this, that the primitive confessions were 
 separated by a considerable interval of time from the 
 restoration of the penitent, who must make satisfaction before 
 he could be absolved ; and the ancient system was, therefore, 
 unlike the present in one important point. The third should 
 be compared with what is said, below, on the corresponding 
 third statement from the Roman Catholic side. 
 
 Roman Catholics assert, generally, that 
 
 (i) The confessions, though public, were made to Almighty 
 GOD, and no reconciliation to the community at large, or to 
 individuals with whom those confessing had been at variance, 
 was properly intended thereby. 1 The people merely added 
 their prayers. 
 
 fession and Indulgences, 3 vols., Philadelphia, 1896), while eminent French 
 scholars, as Duchesne and Batiffol (Etudes d'Histoire et de Theologit 
 Positive, Paris, 1902), have been busy in strengthening the Catholic 
 position. Not much has been written of late in our own country, except 
 either on the doctrine, or from the side of practical piety to which this 
 small volume is a contribution. 
 
 1 Mgr. Batiffol (Etudes, p. 77,) insists that, according to Tertullian, " le 
 pecheur est reconcilie a Dieu, non a 1'Eglise . . . une satisfaction offerte a
 
 On the Primitive Ecclesiastical Methods of Repentance. 83 
 
 (2) But these public confessions were not so much 
 acknowledgment with the lips, even to GOD, as acts of abase- 
 ment and self-chastisement before Him, continued through the 
 whole term of penance. Confessions of sins, seriatim, were 
 always private. 
 
 (3) Here they are not entirely agreed among themselves. 
 Some would raise little objection to the Protestant statement 
 above (also marked 3). They would make the bishop more 
 conspicuous, indeed, in the canonical absolution ; but allow 
 that that was merely the act of release from the discipline, not 
 to be reckoned a " second baptism " of the penitent. Those 
 who hold this opinion add, that a real sacramental absolution 
 was given as well, but separately, and in private. But, now, 
 Duchesne and Batiffol throw doubt on the private absolution, 
 and strongly assert the sacramental character of the public. 1 
 This is not important : the only serious question is, of course, 
 whether a sacrament was thought of at all. 
 
 (4) They barely notice the non-sacramental methods 
 advocated by S. Chrysostom and other Fathers, and minimise 
 their value. 2 
 
 Of these, one would say that the statements (i) and (2), 
 where italicised, ought not to be received without allowing for 
 exceptions. When the confession was of " minora delicta, quas 
 non ad Deum committuntur," 3 surely the congregation would 
 be thought of, and included, in the penitent's intention. And 
 it is hard to believe that they would not often have claimed an 
 interest even in that which most of all offended the supreme 
 
 Dieu devant 1'Eglise par le pecheur, et une supplication addressee a Dieu 
 par 1'Eglise pour le pecheur." In some of his moods, possibly, Tertullian 
 would not have wished to see too much of reconciliation to the Church ; 
 though one is glad to agree with him in thinking that the other, greater 
 reconciliation, was what was chiefly kept in view. But why not say, 
 rather I quote from an unpublished letter of the late Bishop of Nassau 
 " To be reconciled to the Head is to be reconciled to the Body, and 
 vice versa : the Body is not to be conceived of as existing apart from the 
 Head ? " 
 
 1 Compare the opinions expressed, again, on this subject in the last 
 paragraph of the Appendix to chap. viii. 
 
 - Here also they would seem to differ among themselves. See the 
 theory of M. Boudinhon, quoted by Batiffol (Etudes, p. 198). 
 
 3 S. Cyprian. Ep. xi. (Ad Plebem.)
 
 84 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 GOD, viz., idolatry. Nor does it seem inconsistent with the 
 bluntness and freedom of ancient manners, 1 that even public 
 confessions should have been explicit (although, certainly, they 
 would be short, and concerned with overt acts much more 
 than motives). S. Irenaeus and Eusebius relate instances of 
 confessions made in public, which appear to have been some- 
 what detailed. 2 There would be little care to " keep one's 
 mouth like a bridle " in days when reticence and self-control 
 were so seldom observed. Still, it is likely that the majority of 
 applicants for penance took their places in the ranks after 
 description of their one principal offence, and that that alone 
 was published, and formed the substance of their confession. 
 The publication would be similar to that which accompanied 
 the special sin-offerings of the Jews. 
 
 As to (4), it is easy to imagine that Roman Catholics 
 would be prejudiced against a Patristic doctrine by which 
 contrition and satisfaction were held to be availing without 
 sacramental absolution, and, as such, were recommended to the 
 faithful. 3 But we should remember that when the Fathers 
 spoke of dispensing with the priest's help in confession, they 
 were always addressing themselves to persons leading regular 
 lives in the Church. They never disparaged the power which 
 CHRIST'S ministers inherit from the apostles. 
 
 1 Especially as, during the later Empire, Roman manners began to be 
 tainted with barbarism through an infusion of Goth and Vandal 
 immigrants. 
 
 " See S. Iren. III. chap. iv. 3. Euseb. v. chap. 28 ; vi. chap. 9; vii. 
 chap. 9. 
 
 3 Modern French scholars have abandoned some of the theories of two 
 hundred years ago. Jesuit writers of the iyth century laboured to prove 
 identity between their own practice and that of the Primitive Church ; as 
 if nearly all sins had been remissible only by private confession and 
 absolution, and without painful or public discipline. Thus they indeed 
 minimised the importance of prayers offered by repenting sinners for 
 themselves ; but laid the utmost stress on the Church's pcenitentia arcana, 
 making over both public discipline and irremissible sins to the Montanists, 
 whom they compared to the Jansenists of their own day. (See, for in- 
 stance, Morinus, De Poemt. v. 31, and ix. 20, 21 : Petavius, De Pcenit. vi. 
 1-5.) These views are no longer held tenable to the full extent ; and 
 consequently I have made little use of the great Jesuit authors. The 
 more common opinion now is, that absolutions were public, and confession 
 not enjoined for ordinary faults.
 
 On the Primitive Ecclesiastical Methods of Repentance. 85 
 
 We, in the Church of England, enjoy greater freedom of 
 choice, not being bound by the decrees of Trent. Our appeal 
 is to antiquity (as the Tractarians used to proclaim). Submis- 
 sion to those of old may, of course, be carried to an extreme. 
 We are not in {bondage to each and all of the doctrines, and 
 customs great or small. But, surely, there could be no harm, 
 and might indeed be much good, if, without the rigorous 
 discipline, we could conform our penitential practice (as we 
 already do our authorised language), to the general principles 
 laid down by Fathers like S. Chrysostom, S. Augustine, and 
 S. Leo. Earlier than that, we should find the rules less 
 congenial, and more rudely tentative. But at the end of the 
 fourth century, and in the first half of the fifth, we discover in 
 the great writers a spirit which answers remarkably to the 
 liberality of our English Prayer Book. Confession and 
 absolution are freely granted to those who need restoration 
 through the power of the keys. Access to the Sacraments is 
 granted without these, by prayer alone, or prayer with fasting, 
 and alms and thanksgiving, to all persons whose consciences 
 are void of "the great offence." 1 
 
 It has not been thought advisable to carry on our notice of 
 penitential customs from primitive times down to our own. 
 For the last three centuries or more our Prayer Book will 
 speak for itself. The exhortations contained therein can never 
 have become quite a dead letter ; and it is remarkable that 
 some of the best authenticated instances of the use of confession 
 occurred during the troublous times of Charles I., and the 
 vicious reign of his son. 2 
 
 1 S. Augustine says (De Nupt. et Concup. 1. cap. 33 ; and often 
 besides), " Oratio Dominica est nostra quotidiana mundatio." 
 
 2 Charles I. himself confessed, and his favourite Buckingham ; 
 Royalists condemned by Cromwell would confess to bishops or clergy 
 who had the courage to attend them to the scaffold. Even Lenthall, the 
 Speaker of the Long Parliament, confessed before his death. Confession 
 held a regular place in the ascetic lives of Morley, Ken, Lady Maynard, 
 Mrs. Godolphin, and many others their contemporaries. (See Dean 
 Plumptre's Life of Ken, and Mr. W. H. Hutton's History of the English 
 Church from Charles I. to Queen Anne.) Richard Baxter tells, in his 
 Autobiography, how a youthful friend, who had given way to drinking, 
 would "go to good ministers with sad confessions," as if this was a
 
 86 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 During the Middle Ages, everyone knows that sacramental 
 confession continued to be enjoined and regularly observed. 
 The chain of evidence is unbroken, and there is no need to 
 examine the links when there are so many. However, it is 
 now generally admitted that abuses crept in during the medieval 
 period : penance became mechanical, and contrition was almost 
 forgotten. One chief object of the Jesuit, Oratorian, and 
 Borromean revivals on the Continent was to bring back the 
 Church to a healthful condition in this respect an object to 
 which one cannot doubt that men like Laud, Herbert, and Ken 
 contributed too in England, working on independent lines. 
 Thus it is not well to import rules of conduct from the Middle 
 Ages, except with extreme caution. We are safer if we make 
 a bridge back to the age of the great Councils, and sit at the 
 feet of saints and martyrs who then instructed the Church. 
 
 Yet let us not forget what we owe to the vitality of the 
 " penitent heart and lively faith," through all the strange 
 fluctuations of medieval piety. Let us remember how penitence 
 gave the first impulse to many a grand religious movement ; 
 how England and Scotland profited by the remorse of S. 
 Columba, and all Europe by the conversion of S. Francis. Let 
 us honour also the memories of pious founders, whom sorrow 
 for their own or their people's transgressions moved, like David 
 and the Magdalene of old, to bring costly offerings to the 
 LORD who had received them into His peace. Let us 
 remember Westminster Abbey, and S. Alban's, and the fair 
 College which Chichele's self-reproach gave to Oxford. Nor 
 should we fail to preserve grateful recollection of the high and 
 pure tone of monastic religion, fed by the zeal of earnest spirits 
 flying from a life of crime. Nor leave unacknowledged those 
 whose penance took the shape of pious pilgrimages whole- 
 some tonics for souls exhausted by a ferment of stormy 
 passions. Nor withhold our reverence from that tender pity 
 which succoured the victims of plague or civil war, encouraging 
 
 perfectly natural and obvious incident in his repentance. And finally, 
 the Bishops' Visitation Articles of this period would contain stringent 
 enquiries as to whether the rule of secrecy (ii3th Canon) had been kept 
 by confessors.
 
 On the Primitive Ecclesiastical Methods of Repentance. 87 
 
 even the most informal confession, sooner than to let men die 
 without assurance of GOD'S pardon. 1 
 
 So did our forefathers treasure up, and preserve until 
 happier times, the merciful Gospel of the Saviour of sinners. 
 
 I should say here that, for the Primitive Penitence, I have derived 
 much assistance from Dr. Swete's Article in the Journal of Sacred Studits, 
 April, 1903. But I have not read Harnack. In an enquiry like this, the 
 personal piety of a scholar may be concerned, quite as much as his 
 critical acumen. The result is great diversity of opinion ; and many will 
 think that the distinction I have drawn between Protestant and Catholic 
 writers is much too sharp. For instance, some of the former now suggest 
 that the reconciliation of penitents was at first decided by the voice of a 
 prophet or T/eiyiaTiK<}j (Gal. vi. i), whose authority to judge would depend 
 on the measure of his spiritual gifts. That view would neither necessitate, 
 nor absolutely preclude, the subsequent intervention of a bishop. 
 
 However, the only really important question is, whether the early 
 Church believed in a sacramental cleansing of the penitent ? And I think 
 I am right in saying that this is still denied by the majority of Protestant 
 writers. Take Dr. H. C. Lea for an example : " Admission to reconcilia- 
 tion naturally fell to the bishop." That is generally agreed upon. But 
 why ? Because " if it had involved any supernatural power to bind and 
 to loose, the priest would have been equally competent to perform it." 
 The priest was excluded, he thinks, merely because he lacked the presi- 
 dential authority of a bishop. Nothing else was thought of. (See Hist, 
 of Auric. COM/., vol. i., p. 54, etc.) 
 
 1 See the chapter on The Black Death in Mr. Capes' History of the 
 English Church in the Fourteenth Century.
 
 88 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Hearers of Confessions, and Spiritual Guides. 
 
 WE proceed with our next step. If confession has been 
 thought advisable, we must soon come to a decision upon the 
 office, or service, of a confessor. Not very much light is to be 
 derived here from ancient records ; and yet it will be best not 
 to pass them over entirely. We of the Church of England, who 
 take our stand on the doctrine of undivided Christendom, 
 should not despise the support to be had from thence, for 
 ordinances which we still revere. 
 
 Not much is known about confessors, nor about systematic 
 confession of any kind, in the two first centuries after the 
 Christian era. 1 But, if the latter was enjoined and practised 
 by the apostles, as we know from the New Testament that it 
 was ; 2 and if we also find it fully established at the beginning 
 of the third century, we cannot suppose that there had been 
 any discontinuance in the interval. Confessions were made, and, 
 most probably, made in public, after the rule of S. James v. 16. 
 
 When the records of penitence begin to be more explicit, we 
 are at once struck by the preponderance given to the subject of 
 punishments. 
 
 I. It is generally thought that there was no regular system 
 
 1 Dr. Swete, (Journal of Theol. Studies, April, 1903,) has collected a few 
 examples, from S. Clement, S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp, S. Irenasus, the 
 Epistle of S. Barnabas ; and one much to the point from the Didache : 
 tv iKK\riffiq. ^0^0X071^9 TO, ira.pa.irrufi.aTd trov. [i.e. before Communion] . Dr. 
 Lea, (Hist, of Auric. Conf., vol. i., pp. 174, 175,) has no lack of authorities 
 to cite for his own opposite view ; but he invites distrust by his vehemence. 
 
 * The case for confession is quite clear ; see Acts xix. 18, S. James v. 
 16, i S. John i. 8. Absolution has been thought more doubtful ; but see 
 chap. viii.
 
 Hearers of Confession, and Spiritual Guides. 89 
 
 of discipline at first, either for catechumens or for those repent- 
 ing after baptism. When the public penitence had been 
 instituted, which Tertullian calls exomologesis, three offences 
 were reserved, with which the Church refused to deal in the 
 ordinary way, but referred them to the judgment of Almighty 
 GOD. These three were idolatry, (involving apostasy from the 
 faith,) adultery, and murder ; as to which there is reason to 
 think, that their selection may have been due to a misreading 
 of the conciliar decree in Acts xv. 2O. 1 It was supposed that 
 the apostles had reserved the sins in question, and therefore the 
 Church could do no less; until, about A.D. 220, Pope S. Calixtus 
 thought fit to make an exception in favour of transgressors 
 against the seventh commandment, and so by degrees the first 
 severity was relaxed. While the exclusion remained in force, 
 it seems likely that the crimes were reckoned heinous, not 
 merely for their disobedience to the Divine law, but as most 
 hurtful to Christian society. Idolatrous worship was a breach 
 of the first and great commandment, but it was also what 
 caused the deepest trouble and distress to the whole body of 
 the faithful, shaming them before their heathen persecutors, and 
 emptying their ranks by most lamentable disloyalty. The 
 wound it gave to the unity of holy Church could hardly be 
 forgiven : at the least, it must not be passed over without 
 punishment. 2 Adultery, too, would be regarded as mainly a 
 social offence, even by those who had not forgotten the higher 
 ground taken by S. Paul, who insists on the obligation of purity 
 for all who are made CHRIST'S members.3 For men's passions 
 were very lawless ; and the frequent breach of the conjugal 
 bond led to savage brawls ending in bloodshed. So adultery 
 
 1 S. Irenasus, Tertullian, and S. Cyprian, all quote this decree with- 
 out the "things strangled." (The juxta-position of " fornicators, 
 murderers, and idolaters," in Rev. xxii. 15, is remarkable, if we take that 
 for a classification of those standing finally " without " the Church.) 
 
 2 For an example of persistence in the rigid view, see Socrates' 
 History, book vii. chap. 25 ; where a conversation is given between the 
 patriarch Atticus and Asclepiades the Novatianist. Atticus was patriarch 
 of Constantinople from A.D. 405 to 426. 
 
 3 For S. Paul's teaching, see i Cor. vi., Ephes. v., i Thess. iv. For 
 S. Peter's warning on "behaviour seemly among the Gentiles," i Pet. 
 ii. ii.
 
 go The Use of Penitence. 
 
 was condemned, because of its being an incentive to murder. 1 
 And then came murder itself, the greatest wrong that could be 
 done, whether to the individual, or to the community. 
 
 These were the crimes which public sentiment required to 
 be simply punished, not forgiven by the Church's authority. 
 Being what they were, there could be no question that the 
 proper persons to take cognisance of them were the whole 
 number sinned against. Thus, to shut out culprits from the 
 privileges of Christian fellowship would be virtually the act of 
 the entire congregation. But when that had been done, a 
 common supplication for pardon might still ascend to the ears 
 of infinite compassion. For it does not appear that they 
 despaired oFthe Divine mercy, though the Church's channels 
 were sealed against these worst offenders. 
 
 By degrees, these reserved cases were admitted to exomo- 
 logesis together with others ; and were included in a list which 
 had a natural tendency to increase in length. 2 Apostasy, 
 adultery, and homicide, though they might happen to be the 
 crimes most disturbing to public peace, did not sum up the 
 whole of man's disobedience to his Maker ; nor were they the 
 only ones against which early Christian society stood on its 
 guard. 3 Even the Decalogue, most literally rendered, had 
 
 1 Tertullian (De Pudicitia) complains of the inconsistency of treating 
 adultery more leniently than the other two. He calls the adulterer 
 " idololatrise successorem, homicidii antecessorem, utriusque collegam." 
 S. Chrysostom (Horn, xxiii. in 1 Cor.) prefers to call fornication the mother 
 of idolatry, because the prelude to idolatrous rites would be acts of un- 
 cleanness. S. Augustine, though not agreeing with Tertullian, is stern 
 enough when he has to denounce sins of the flesh : " Adulterium sic 
 timete quomodo mortem ; mortem, non quse animam solvit a corpore, 
 sed ubi anima semper ardebit cum corpore. . . . Scio fornicatoribus, 
 adulteris . . . dicere diabolum in cordibus eorum, Non sunt magna 
 carnis peccata. Contra hanc diaboli susurrationem debemus habere 
 Christi Incarnationem. Hoc est unde Christianos decipit inimicus per 
 carnis illecebras, cum eis facit lene quod grave est, lene quod asperum, 
 dulce quod amarum est. Sed quid prodest quia Satanas facit leve, quod 
 Christus ostendit grave ? " (Serm. ccxxiv : Ad infantes.) 
 
 - See Martene (De Rit. vol. ii. p. 18) : " Quibus, temporis successu, 
 longe plura adjecta sunt." The earlier lists of capitalia, such as that 
 given by Hermas, (Mandat. viii.,) or by Tertullian, (Adv. Marcion. iv. 9,) 
 seem to have been compiled without much care or order. 
 
 3 S. Cyprian, (Ep. xi. al. xvii.,) includes " ininora delicta, quse non ad 
 Deum committuntur." These are proper subjects for penance ; not
 
 Hearers of Confession, and Spiritual Guides. 91 
 
 prohibited at least five things besides the three above-mentioned. 
 Prophets like Amos had denounced those who " afflicted the 
 just, took bribes, and turned aside the poor in the gate." Who 
 can doubt that there was room for such warnings still, in what 
 was happening every day in the market-place of Carthage, or of 
 Alexandria? Already indeed, and before the generation had 
 passed away that saw JESUS in the flesh, S. James had poured 
 forth eloquent invectives against profanity, blaspheming GOD, 
 avarice, fraudulent oppression, and lying ; while S. Paul had 
 enumerated sixteen " works of the flesh " by which the 
 heavenly inheritance would be forfeited. 1 So, if we could 
 transport ourselves into the Church-assemblies of the third 
 century, we should probably find any gross sins of the more 
 obvious kind exposed to public animadversion. Exomologesis 
 would suit the rough moral sense of those days, when there was 
 not much apprehension that confessions would reveal secrets, and 
 little fear, therefore, of their giving a wider vogue to scandals. 
 
 II. But that state of things could not continue for ever. 
 
 A strange interest attaches to the first age of Christianity. 
 Conscious as they were of jealous eyes watching them from 
 every side, those small persecuted communities must have 
 cherished eagerly the light that had come to gladden them by 
 the revelation of JESUS CHRIST. 2 If they had a corresponding 
 horror of false brethren and renegades from the faith, one 
 cannot wonder. Fierce indignation against such traitors had 
 been manifested by the apostles themselves. Yet, when once 
 the penitential discipline had been established in all its severity, 
 there would soon begin to be a reaction against it. Even 
 though at first the Church was blamed for undue clemency in 
 
 venial sins, yet of less gravity than the three reserved ones. " Non ad 
 Deum " may mean "not amounting to denial of the faith." 
 
 1 The doctrine of these great apostles is enlarged upon, with the 
 utmost fervour, by S. Chrysostom, (Horn. Ixxxvii. in Joann. ;) 6 -yAp xpw TW " 
 epCiv, fj.vpia TOV TrX-rjaiov StaOrjffei KaKa, Kal eavrov fj.er tuelvov. But avarice was to 
 
 S. Chrysostom always the sum of all evil, (i Tim. vi. 9, 10,) while alms- 
 giving was the sweetest and most fruitful of all virtues. 
 
 2 On the contrast between heathen and Christian morals under the 
 Roman Empire, see chap. vi. and the notes there. For a discriminating 
 and impartial study of the former, see Dr. S. Dill, From Nero to Marcus 
 Aurelius, book II. chap. 2.
 
 g 2 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 opening the door at all, there must have been many whose 
 hearts were moved to pity for those erring brethren whom they 
 left weeping in the porch, while themselves went forward to 
 claim their portion in the holy and joyful mysteries. 1 One 
 would like to accede to Hooker's opinion, that the penitents 
 were " greatly eased by the good construction which the charity 
 of those times gave to such actions, wherein men's piety and 
 voluntary care to be reconciled to GOD, did purchase them 
 much more love, than their faults were able to procure dis- 
 grace." 2 If so, they would endure their sackcloth and ashes 
 right cheerfully. But then, if so much sympathy was really 
 felt for their condition, would not the Church be led on soon to 
 something gentler than the public exomologesis, which, what- 
 ever its compensations, must have been a terribly stern ordeal ? 
 
 Indeed, a not uncommon view is that the majority of 
 criminals were repelled by dread and dislike of the discipline ; 
 so that, even when bishops had so far condoned their apostasy, 
 as to admit them into the ranks of penitents, they would 
 refuse a privilege which had been so dearly purchased. If we 
 consider this probable, and moreover take into account the 
 habit of delaying baptism which became increasingly common 
 after the frequent lapses of the baptised, 3 and, finally, recollect 
 how the greater crimes, instead of being dealt with in the Church's 
 forum, would more and more be transferred for judgment to 
 secular courts, we shall perceive a number of causes contributing 
 to diminish the importance of the older penitential system, and 
 to substitute something else in its place. 
 
 Not that any haste was shown in abandoning public 
 exomologesis. It is certain that that was persevered with, in the 
 West, for centuries after it had begun to languish, or was even 
 
 1 The Eucharistic Feast anticipates the joy of that " City of GOD " of 
 which the Psalmist writes, " Laetantium omnium habitatio est in te." 
 (Ps. Ixxxvii. 7.) See what was said in chap. iii. and the notes there. 
 
 2 Hooker, book vi. chap. iv. 2. 
 
 3 The public exomologesis was for baptised persons only ; although, 
 when the catechumenate had been established, catechumens were placed 
 in classes under the same priests who ordered the penitents ; and very 
 much of S. Cyril's Lectures (e.g. Lect. ii.) is as penitential in tone as if it 
 had been intended for the latter.
 
 Hearers of Confession, and Spiritual Guides. 93 
 
 abolished, at Constantinople. Though the most flagrant 
 offenders were now sent for trial to the Emperor's courts, 
 others whom the Church judged deserving of at least temporary 
 exclusion from communion were placed under the charge of 
 penitentiary priests, and so passed through a public discipline 
 or confession, of which the term would generally be reached 
 before Easter. S. Ambrose and S. Augustine both recognise 
 this as existing in their day. S. Augustine, like others before 
 him, speaks of the opening of penitence to grievous sinners 
 once, though not more than once ; J and would have prayers 
 offered for such, to overcome their dread of public exposure. 2 
 Even S. Leo alludes to the old discipline, as if it were still in 
 force. However, S. Leo is at the same time a great authority 
 for the private or auricular confession, which was then supersed- 
 ing the ancient use. Taking occasion by a local scandal arising 
 from the practice by certain bishops of reading aloud confessions 
 made to them in writing, this great Pope strictly requires that 
 in future the audience shall be in secret. 3 From his time, 
 therefore, the assembled faithful never listened to confessions, 
 except when the offences were already notorious. 4 For scan- 
 dalous cases, (as when baptism had been repeated, or heathen 
 manners resumed with idolatrous worship,) public penitence 
 was still required ; and only at its termination was reconcilia- 
 tion granted, the bishop restoring the penitent to communion 
 by imposition of hands. 5 
 
 Of the causes which contributed to keep up the old 
 discipline, some may be traced to alarm caused by the rage of 
 heathen persecutors, others to the disorders existing in a mixed 
 population, largely composed of slaves, and of those by whom 
 
 1 S. Aug. (Ep. clii.). 
 
 2 S. Aug. (Enchir. cap. Ixxxii ; where he comments on 2 Tim. ii. 25). 
 
 3 See S. Leo, Ep. clxviii. chap. 2 : Ad Episcopos per Campaniam con- 
 stitutes. Also his Ep. clix. and clxvii. 
 
 * In saying " from his time," and " in future," the author has followed 
 what seems to be the common opinion, that these were new regulations, 
 made now by S. Leo for the first time. But can we be sure of this ? 
 Had not the public discipline of penitence always been limited to the 
 expiation of public scandals ? Were not the Campanian bishops really 
 therefore the innovators ? 
 
 3 See Batiffol, Orig. de la Penitence, p. 162.
 
 94 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 the injunction to " follow after peace with all men " would be 
 habitually disregarded. 1 Most of them were incidental to the 
 decadence of the empire, and can have little interest for us of a 
 practical kind. Much indeed can be said, now and always, in 
 favour of the simplicity and directness of public confession, 
 which must have seemed the natural thing to begin with, (as we 
 saw in the last chapter). But when the times became less 
 simple, and men more thoughtful and more sad, the retention 
 of exomologesis on its old footing became highly inconvenient. 
 If this was still reserved for extraordinary public scandals, the 
 Church saw that something else would be requisite for the 
 regular healing of sin by repentance. 
 
 " Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, our secret sins in 
 the light of Thy countenance." Good men soon began to be 
 anxious not only about wicked deeds done in public, nor such 
 as were known only to GOD and His angels ; but also as to evil 
 motives and desires, though these might not result in overt acts 
 of sin. Our LORD had distinctly included these in the warn- 
 ings of His great Sermon, and they were sure to attract 
 attention, when people were becoming better trained in 
 practical piety, and were able to examine themselves, and had 
 passed beyond the rudiments. 2 Thus by about the beginning 
 of the sixth century we find a careful writer like S. Caesarius of 
 Arless enlarging the list of capitalia to include pride, envy, 
 hatred, unbelief; which the public conscience now began to 
 regard as " sins unto death." So to this day, whenever the 
 question is of what sins should be confessed, we are apt to 
 think of the so-called " deadly seven ; " all of which are in their 
 conception secret, and to which others more particularly sins 
 of the intellect might very well be added. (Traditional regard 
 for the number seven is surely not all-important to be pre- 
 served.) The fact is that, as our LORD taught, the things 
 
 1 Later, S. Chrysostom still contrasts the unity which CHRIST'S apostles 
 established with the discord prevailing in his own day when e-rjpiuv 
 
 Xa\eirwT(pov Trp&s TO. a\\ri\<av 8ia.Keifj.e6a /*Ar;. 
 
 - S. Basil has some very clear teaching on root-sins: see Reg. Brev. 
 289. 
 
 3 See a sermon by S. Caesarius, De Sanctis, in App. to vol. v. of S. 
 Augustine.
 
 Hearers of Confession, and Spiritual Guides, 95 
 
 which defile are always " what proceed from within, out 
 of the heart of men ; " there must the watch be set, and there 
 are the defeats sustained for which reparation is made by 
 repentance. 
 
 III. But these secret sins are not like open acts of crime, to 
 be punished by stripes, imprisonment, or public disgrace. 
 They are for the most part diseases, for which the treat- 
 ment has to be long-continued, discriminating, and gently 
 progressive. When they are confessed, they must either be 
 uttered by the heart only, so that none hears but GOD ; or else 
 some person must be found specially qualified, to whom the 
 avowal may be made very privately, with all soberness, and in 
 the fear of GOD. It is interesting to trace the beginnings of 
 this latter practice, so far as we are able. 
 
 The Council of Trent declares most positively, that 
 auricular confession was observed by the Catholic Church 
 always from the beginning. 1 Very likely this was so, though it 
 cannot be said that we know much about it. Socrates, writing 
 mostly on the Eastern Church, tells of nothing earlier than the 
 institution of a penitentiary official, soon after the Decian 
 persecution. Sozomen, on the contrary, describes what he had 
 heard of at Rome : a custom, that is, of private confession 
 dating from the first (e upx^s)- Yet ne seems to state this 
 more as his own opinion (J>s CIKOS) than as thoroughly ascertained. 
 It is less important, perhaps, to enquire when exactly the 
 custom began, than to acquaint oneself with the course it took 
 later when it had become popular. Origen writes as a con- 
 temporary, of what was frequently done in his own day ; and is 
 in close accord with the more distant recollections of the 
 historian. Sozomen says that it had been found too burden- 
 some (<o/3Ti*ov) to confess all sins in public, and so the bishops 
 appointed a presbyter, to whose judgment recourse could be 
 had in private. Origen, writing much nearer to the time 
 alluded to, approves the selection of a person fit to distinguish 
 
 1 See Council of Trent, 14th Session, Can. vi. : " Si quis dixerit . . . 
 modum secrete confitendi soli sacerdoti, quam Ecclesia Catholica ab 
 initio semper servavit . . . alienum esse ab institutione Christi, 
 anathema esto."
 
 g6 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 between the cases submitted to his judgment. 1 Here we see 
 the important step arrived at (then, if not sooner), of choosing 
 a single recipient of confessions in place of the multitude. We 
 also see what kind of person was thought suitable. Origen 
 recommends that great care should be taken to discover a good 
 man, learned and merciful, a physician of souls. Sozomen 
 says that his presbyter would be one well reported of for 
 thoughtfulness and prudent reserve. This was no mere official 
 to take down a statement, and give a passport. To be sure 
 those who confessed were generally, for a long time, sent on 
 from him to do their penance in public, the two systems being 
 thus in a measure combined. At least, there seems little doubt 
 that it was so at Rome, where penitentiary priests were 
 attached to the principal basilicas, who made this their 
 business. 2 But no one knows whether private confessions were 
 by them ordered to be repeated in full, or as is perhaps more 
 probable only so much as would determine the person's 
 position in the ranks of penitents. And Origen almost seems 
 to imply that, in his country, there might be another alternative 
 besides sending them " where the whole Church was convened." 
 But whichever way that was ruled and certainly the public 
 discipline was a great safeguard, and provided security for 
 reparation being made, in many cases we have clear evidence 
 enough that the previous confession and conference were in 
 private. Sozomen's " man of reserve " (k\(.[LvBov} must have 
 been one who observed the seal of confession. Origen's 
 " merciful physician " would respect the confidence reposed in 
 him. A hundred years later, S. Basil rules that the soul's 
 diseases should be revealed only to those who understand 
 them.3 And of S. Ambrose we have a remarkable testimony 
 from his biographer : " As often as any confessed to him his 
 faults, in order to receive penance (ob percipiendem poenitentiam), 
 he so wept, as to compel him, too, to weep . . . but the matter 
 (causas) of the crimes, which the penitent confessed to him, he 
 
 1 The references are : Origen, In Ps. xxxvii. Horn. ii. ; Socrates, Hist. 
 bk. v. chap. 19 ; Sozomen, Hist. bk. vii. chap. 16. 
 
 2 See Mgr. Batiffol's Etudes, Orig. de la Penitence, pp. 146, 147. 
 
 3 See S. Basil (Reg. Brcv. 229 and 288).
 
 Hearers of Confession, and Spiritual Guides. 97 
 
 spoke of to no one, except to the LORD Himself, with whom 
 he interceded ; leaving a good example to succeeding bishops, 
 that they should rather be intercessors with GOD, than accusers 
 among men." 1 Of S. Chrysostom, his great compassion for the 
 guilty, and the odium he excited thereby, something will be 
 said in a later chapter. The examples of these three Fathers 
 are enough to prove that, certainly by the fourth century, 
 bishops themselves were hearing confessions, and not merely 
 pronouncing those absolved who came from the public 
 exomologesis. 
 
 And there was a real demand for holy men to be employed 
 in this ministry. S. Basil is full of the most benevolent 
 thoughts for his penitents : recollecting how the people went to 
 S. John Baptist in the wilderness, or to " show their deeds " to 
 S. Paul at Ephesus, and earnestly longing to help his own as 
 those were helped. One hardly knows what to say about the 
 intercourse between lapsed persons and the so-called "martyrs" 
 at an earlier date. S. Cyprian was obliged to note abuses, 
 arising from what was more truly an interference, than a just 
 and merciful observance of the Church's order. 2 Yet, although 
 some of these martyrs, as it seems, had " come in no peril of 
 death, but were lusty and strong," 3 and at the same time were 
 criminally lax in issuing their libelli to unworthy applicants, 
 that cannot always have been the case. Weak and erring souls 
 must often have met with the best of comfort from glorious 
 sufferers, whose own witness had never faltered, who had given 
 everything but their lives for CHRIST. The holiest men were 
 needed for confessors, and the early Church in great measure 
 supplied them. Saints were in readiness, to whom treacherous 
 revealing of secrets would be impossible : saints of GOD, who 
 
 1 See Paulinus' Life of S. Ambrose, 39 : " Ita flebat, ut et ilium flere 
 compelleret ; videbatur enim sibi cum jacente jacere, Causas autem 
 criminum quae illi confitebantur, nulli nisi Domino soli, apud quern 
 intercedebat, loquebatur ; bonum relinquens exemplum posteris sacer- 
 dotibus, ut intercessores apud Deum magis sint, quam accusatores apud 
 homines." (Quoted by Pusey in his Preface to Gaume.) 
 
 2 See S. Cyprian De Lapsis, 12 ; also Ep. xxx. (or xxxvi.), which is 
 really a letter to the saint from the Church in Rome. 
 
 3 Ps. Ixxiii. 4. (Prayer Book version.)
 
 98 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 would " pour oil and wine " into the terrible wounds, and restore 
 the dying souls. 
 
 What the nature was of their remedial treatment what 
 the advice they offered is not what concerns us now. The 
 important fact is that the Primitive Church had its system of 
 private confession, and that the confessors were the best and 
 wisest men who could be found. The right persons, said 
 S. Basil, are those " who have been charged with a dispensation 
 of the mysteries of GOD : for so, of old, confessions were made 
 before saints : the Baptist, or the apostles." He means, that 
 those princes of the Church were not only stewards of the 
 mysteries, but men distinguished for great personal holiness. 
 
 IV. We shall see in the following chapters how all the more 
 grievous sins, if remissible, were thought to necessitate the use 
 of ministerial absolution, commonly known as the power of the 
 keys. But let us first speak of a different class of penitents. 
 Apart from those who came as offenders against the Divine 
 commandments, we find many pious persons seeking out the 
 eminent saints, that they might profit by their ghostly counsel. 
 The spiritual guidance of devout people had a large place in 
 the employment of those good Fathers ; as may be seen from 
 numberless letters that have come down to our time. 
 These letters are among the most precious legacies bequeathed 
 to the Church by the great early writers. They show the 
 brighter side of primitive Christian society. We see here how, 
 if " works of the flesh " were manifested on one hand (in a 
 society still more than half heathen), on the other, there was no 
 lack of " saintly maidens," to fast and pray and frequent the 
 sacraments, nor of " godly matrons " who strove to bring up 
 their children in the faith of JESUS crucified. One thinks of 
 Monica's veneration for Ambrose, of Augustine counselling 
 Proba, Jerome with his noble Roman ladies, Chrysostom 
 sending comfort to the loyal and much tried Olympias 
 saintly disciples stablished and strengthened by saintly 
 teachers. Difficult points of doctrine, or obscure passages in 
 the Bible, would be discussed in these letters ; or questions 
 arising from divergent ecclesiastical customs : but all would 
 tend to the more confirmation of the faith, and a larger growth
 
 Hearers of Confession, and Spiritual Guides. 99 
 
 in holiness. Nor were women the only enquirers. Governors 
 and magistrates would be indebted to bishops for advice befit- 
 ting their station. 1 And sometimes a friendship between good 
 men would be made the occasion for mutual uplifting ; as, 
 notably, in the correspondence of Basil, Gregory, and Amphi- 
 lochius. However, there was nothing in all this that was very 
 peculiar to the times. The reasons for seeking ghostly counsel 
 would be what they always are with earnest Christians, whose aim 
 is to live for the greater glory of GOD, and who therefore desire 
 that the stronger should bear the infirmities of the weaker. But 
 the old rules were peculiar in some respects : as we shall soon see. 
 It does not appear that devout people were then wont to 
 apply to their spiritual guides for confession. 2 That was kept 
 for the worst offenders, and was not proposed to pious souls 
 aiming at perfection. On the other hand, much is to be 
 learned from the Fathers on the treatment of those daily faults, 
 from which not the best of men can be exempt. Daily faults 
 did not separate the soul from habitual grace : they were for 
 the most part sins of infirmity, by which the child of GOD was 
 not precluded from access to his heavenly FATHER. S. 
 Augustine is never tired of insisting on the privilege which 
 belongs to the baptised, of obtaining remission by the daily 
 and devout use of the LORD'S Prayer. " Eorum est enim 
 dicere Pater noster, etc., qui jam Patri tali regenerati sunt ex 
 aqua et Spiritu." 3 S. Chrysostom had taken exactly the same 
 line. 4 S. Leo exhorts the faithful in Rome to prepare for their 
 Easter Communion by united prayer with mutual intercession ; 
 as if that alone was requisite. 5 This is certainly remarkable, at 
 
 1 Take, for instance, the correspondence of S. Augustine with 
 Marcellinus, or Honoratus. 
 
 * See a French writer quoted by Batiffol, Etudes, p. 213: "Nous 
 voyons les Peres assigner aux peches v6niels d'autres remedes que la 
 confession . . . Alors, les pieux fideles, et meme les saints . . . n'ayant 
 pas commis de pech6 mortel depuis le bapteme, (qu'en general ils 
 avaient 1690 assez tard,) ne se confessaient jamais." 
 
 3 See S. Aug. (Enchir. cap. Ixxi. ; Horn. Ivi. in S. Joann.). 
 
 4 See S. Chrys. (Horn. xix. in S. Matt.) : n-wT-oZs O.VTT) i) wpocevx^ irpocnriKei. 
 6 yap d/at^TjTos OVK av Si'/vairo wartpa. Ka.\eiv rbv Qebv. 
 
 5 See S. Leo (Serm. Ixxxviii. De Jejun. sept, mensis, iii.). This is 
 discussed in Bishop Gore's Life of the Saint, in the Diet. Chr. Biography.
 
 ioo The Use of Penitence. 
 
 a season when now, even in our English Church, it is usual to 
 propose confession to the careful consideration of all intending 
 communicants. Confession is not mentioned in S. Leo's 
 sermon, although he supposes that some of his flock may have 
 rather serious blemishes (maculas crassiores) of which to rid 
 themselves. Origen, whose roads to repentance and pardon 
 are manifold, suggests the way of martyrdom among others, as 
 conducive to a holy peace with Goi). 1 That was likely enough 
 in his day, when persecution was rife ; and probably he 
 intended to hold out the same hope to penitents already 
 baptised, as the " baptism in blood " afforded to those who had 
 not had access to the font. But for communicants, in good 
 standing, and at quiet times, it would suffice that they should 
 betake themselves to prayer with almsgiving; adding to these 
 forgiveness of injuries (if they had any to forgive), and doing 
 their utmost to convert others " from the power of Satan unto 
 GOD." 2 Not that the Fathers approved of carelessness : they 
 never made light of any sins committed by the regenerate, 
 great or small. But only after the more grievous crimes was 
 confession deemed to be imperative. 
 
 V. We cannot import these rules and principles into our 
 own times without alteration. In several respects we are 
 apt to think differently now, both as regards the necessity of 
 confession, and the place which spiritual guidance should 
 occupy in the pursuit of holiness. As to necessity, the English 
 Church, of course, has never recognised an absolute obligation 
 to " open one's grief" to another, even after the worst crimes 
 committed : and most of our contemporaries never hear the 
 practical question so much as mooted. Earnest-minded people 
 are thus led to an increased sense of private personal 
 responsibility, and set aside the old sharp distinctions between 
 
 See Origen (Horn. ii. 4 in Levit.). 
 
 2 S. Aug. (Serm. cccliii. 7), enjoins forgiveness of injuries. S. Chrys. 
 (De Pocnit. Horn, iii.), enlarges on the duty of almsgiving: (Ae^/uoo-w^ 
 TTjr fiaffiXlSa ruv aperCiv). Both this Father (De Incompreh. Dei Nat. v. 7), 
 and Cassian (Confer, xx. 8), make much of daily prayer. But S. 
 Augustine will not have it supposed that almsgiving can atone for 
 greater sins. (See De Civ. Dei. xxi. 27.) And of the LORD'S Prayer he 
 says, "Justificatis utique discipulis loquebatur [Dominus "] .
 
 Hearers of Confession, and Spiritual Guides. 101 
 
 what is bad and what is very bad. Besides, there is great 
 reluctance felt under any circumstances to giving over one's 
 conscience to a stranger when the only reason is that there is 
 guilt upon it. If that guilt be supposed heavy, still, most men 
 will think that they can manage their own affairs best. Again, 
 they seldom apply the word unpardonable to anything that 
 they have done ; and there is no discipline in these days 
 to make them afraid. This state of mind savours a good 
 deal of what was discussed in the two first chapters ; but it is 
 in fact almost inseparable from our modern inner consciousness. 
 In the Roman Church, indeed, all accept confession as the 
 indispensable condition for obtaining communion ; but while all 
 accept their Church's ruling, not many perhaps feel as if personal 
 responsibility were much lightened thereby. This is one way 
 in which we differ considerably from the old ideas and customs. 
 
 But what concerns us more at present is a change in the 
 opposite direction. If we resent having confession forced upon 
 us for our worst misdemeanours, we are inclined sometimes to 
 resort to it when the fault has been trifling when the Fathers 
 would have said, perhaps, Pray, and give alms ; but would have 
 let confession alone. 
 
 We may hope that there is no difference in respect of prayer. 
 The direct intercourse with heaven was cultivated in primitive 
 times, and it is cultivated still. " Our FATHER " is still the 
 prayer of the baptised. " Forgive us our trespasses," with the 
 condition attendant upon that, is all that we are required to 
 plead for pardon of lesser faults. All Christians are united in 
 this holy practice. It would be simply untrue to say that it 
 is more characteristic of one party in the Church than another. 
 We may fear, perhaps, that prayer is less general than it used 
 to be: but, even so, the principle has not been abandoned. 
 Though with hours shortened, and rules of mortification in part 
 evaded, we fall on our knees at eventide, and send up a cry 
 from our hearts 
 
 " Forgive me, LORD, for Thy dear SON, 
 The ill that I this day have done ; 
 That with the world, myself, and Thee, 
 I, ere I sleep, at peace may be."
 
 IO2 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 But the difference is just this : that, besides prayer, many 
 earnest Christians now practise auricular confession of common 
 daily faults. There is no such firm dividing line between two 
 classes of sin as used to be marked in ancient times. In theory 
 it may exist still, or even in the language of the Prayer 
 Book ; but scarcely in practice. Very many members of the 
 English Church choose for themselves a religion strongly 
 individualistic ; and these reject confession, even for the 
 greatest faults that can be committed. But others are so far 
 from agreeing with them, that they will not allow themselves 
 even that dispensation which the Fathers certainly did allow. 
 Instead of merely asking advice of their spiritual guides with 
 a view to greater perfection, they rest their case upon faults to 
 which they have just owned in confession not regarding these 
 as of the most deadly kind, yet without much distinction 
 observed, of less or greater. 
 
 It will be well to consider two things. First, whether this 
 change of custom is for the good of those who adopt it : and, 
 if it is, then, secondly, what sort of counsellors will be best 
 under the altered conditions. 
 
 At the end of the last chapter, three reasons were given in 
 favour of " confessing one's sins before a duly qualified hearer." 
 The consideration of the first named, which introduced 
 absolution, was deferred then, and must still be deferred for 
 a little longer. Whether absolution can be rightly given upon 
 recital of common daily faults, is a rather difficult question. 
 But the second and third reasons would appear to apply 
 equally to all kinds of confessions, so long as the faults would, 
 if unconfessed, either endanger the soul by self-deceit, or 
 confuse and sadden it by perplexity. If, through keeping all 
 troubles to oneself, one is likely either to seek comfort in 
 a false peace, or to miss one's next step because one cannot see 
 the way, it must be better surely to let another judge of one's 
 condition. And he can hardly judge, unless he knows through 
 confession the full extent of the difficulties proposed to his 
 notice. 
 
 But, some may object, did not saints of old give advice 
 freely without confession ? Yes, it would seem so. But may
 
 Hearers of Confession, and Spiritual Guides. 103 
 
 not this be the solution, that the daily difficulties and 
 perplexities of life are so much increased in our day, that pious 
 and earnest Christians do really feel greater need of a thorough 
 direction ? It would be an evil were they to seek it too often ; 
 but when it is given, it should be of a kind suited to the 
 human nature of to-day that strangely eager, anxious, often 
 despondent humanity which is the product of an advanced 
 civilisation like our own. It is not enough now to say, simply, 
 " Father, I have sinned." The temptations to those faults 
 will recur again, and one wants to know what to do beforehand. 
 Else, through the fierce heat of their assault, and under a 
 darkening sky, one may quickly lose one's way. 
 
 And life is very full of difficulties. The following instances 
 are to some extent typical of what confront the average Chris- 
 tian, in his (or her) continual warfare : 
 
 (i) The pressure of infidelity is perhaps greater now than 
 in the worst period of the eighteenth century worse than when 
 Bishop Butler complained that " Christianity is not so much as 
 an object of inquiry ; all being agreed to treat it as a fiction, 
 which must no longer interrupt the pleasures of the world." 1 
 The vulgar scoffing of those times was less dangerous than a 
 contempt which is almost courteous. For now, under the shield 
 of language which is never coarse, and very seldom ill- 
 tempered, men push forward their attack with the utmost 
 boldness to the very citadel of orthodox belief. So the 
 unwary listen, and before they realise that any harm is 
 intended, find that they have lost all. But can, then, the 
 intellect be hardened by the use of penitence ? or will a 
 perplexed spirit be better able to " stand fast in the faith " 
 because he has made confession of his sins and taken counsel 
 thereon ? The answer is not quite easy ; because the sort of 
 counsellors required to deal with sceptical difficulties are not, 
 certainly, to be found everywhere. Yet advice ought to be 
 sought ; and if nothing else were gained by confession at such 
 a time, it would be an immense help to sincerity. And sincerity 
 of intention is of all things essential for holding one's ground 
 against artfully prepared objections. Besides, every spiritual 
 1 See the Advertisement to Butler's Analogy.
 
 104 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 guide would be sure to invite to prayer ; and nothing is so apt 
 to scatter the clouds as that. 
 
 (2) Take next the perils of idleness. As is sure to happen 
 in a wealthy country like our own, numbers of persons enjoy 
 a large amount of leisure ; women particularly. The danger 
 for them is obvious. Having so many idle hours to dispose of, 
 they spend their energies on unsatisfying trifles, to the detri- 
 ment of sober moral choice. It might almost be said that these 
 fall victims to conspiracies against the freedom of the will. We 
 hear even of a search after occult influences, the " illusions of art 
 magick," 1 as not too shameful for souls that were made GOD'S 
 children in their baptism. Then we come to " killing time " by 
 card-playing, with all the absurdities of insane gambling. A 
 more wide-spread evil still is the perpetual dallying with works 
 of fiction. Splendidly good, no doubt, are some of the modern 
 novels ; but yet it is true that novels which simply amuse and 
 edify have almost ceased to be written. In those of the less 
 worthy sort, we have much of extravagance, headlong fancies 
 indulged, 2 situations which if they really occurred would be the 
 tempter's overwhelming victories, vice rendered, in the painting, 
 not so much attractive as irresistible. Or, again, there are 
 stories written with a deliberate purpose to subserve, now 
 a particular phase of unbelief, now the passing of some immoral 
 Bill through Parliament: this with much eager special pleading, 
 and gross injustice to the motives of opponents. Then, we 
 have to consider that this kind of literature is being rained 
 down upon thousands of English homes, which are, for their 
 principal inmates, mere palaces of idleness. It may be that the 
 majority of novel-readers are wives and daughters of the 
 middle class, who should rather be reckoned among the most 
 industrious of Englishwomen. Still, it is to be feared that these 
 have very open minds to imbibe fallacies more so, indeed, 
 
 1 Ma-yiidjs efJ.iraiyjjia.Ta rt-xyW- (Wisdom xvii. 7.) 
 
 2 To which, happily, one cannot apply Browning's line 
 
 " Fancy with fact is just one fact the more." 
 
 (The Ring and the Book, 464.) 
 
 So far from being true to facts, the situations are for the most part 
 utterly incredible. Yet a successful novelist has claimed a " purifying " 
 influence for fiction. Sometimes but how often ?
 
 Hearers of Confession, and Spiritual Guides. 105 
 
 than their sisters of higher rank. Half-educated accountants or 
 shop-girls can offer no intellectual barrier to the amazing con- 
 fidence with which assent is demanded for these cunning 
 theories ; while the enormous circulation shows how many 
 myriads of our thoughtless people are pleased with the worst of 
 what is published. Not all, truly, will be led astray : not the 
 wise, the modest, the pure-minded : 
 
 " So dear to Heaven is saintly chastity 
 That when a soul is found sincerely so 
 A thousand liveried angels lackey her, 
 Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt. 
 
 She that has that, is clad in complete steel," etc. 1 
 
 But it is no easy matter to "walk warily in these dangerous 
 days." 2 One might almost say of many of the modern books, 
 with their evil solicitation, " The man that shall touch them 
 must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear." 3 And the 
 best hope of immunity from harm is for those who by preparing 
 regularly for confession, keep watch over wayward impulses and 
 fancies. 
 
 (3) But there are many more persons in England who are 
 busy, than idle : and these are less likely to be led astray by 
 the delights of a fictitious paradise. Erratic fancies are not 
 their weakness. If they have not surrendered personal pre- 
 dilections to the necessity of a life of labour, they have schooled 
 themselves into consenting to regular maxims of their trade, or 
 of their profession. Yet, in submitting to this bondage, they 
 are apt to bear uneasy consciences within their breasts. Things 
 are expected of them which, as Christians, they resent, and 
 would refuse if they dared. Perhaps the usual escape is in a 
 forced forgetfulness. It would be horrible, anyhow, if they 
 were "turned as clay to the seal" 4 to receive each impression 
 as it came. Covetousness is supposed to be a sin of which no 
 man ever repented. But that is scarcely true. Many, whose lot 
 is cast in the midst of crooked dealing, would long intensely to 
 follow truth and righteousness, if only they knew how. The 
 
 1 Milton's Comus (" Speech of Elder Brother "). 
 
 2 See the Commination Office. 3 2 Sam. xxiii. 7. 4 Job xxxviii. 14.
 
 io6 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 great difficulty lies in the implication of so many traders in the 
 dishonesty of their principals. All responsibility is shared. 
 Modern merchants are not like Zacchaeus, who, if he chose to 
 " restore four-fold," had nothing to hinder him, directly his 
 own mind was made up. And if independent action is hardly 
 possible for heads of firms, how much less for juniors and 
 subordinates ! Hence the simply secular lives of so many. 
 They can make no profession of religion, while their business 
 is what it is. 
 
 These are specimens of perplexities caused by our complex 
 and artificial modern existence. As the resources of civilisation 
 are multiplied, temptations increase with them. The new 
 amusements are so many fresh inroads upon the freedom of the 
 will, disturbing the soul from a simple following of CHRIST. 
 Commercial speculations cannot be carried through without 
 much of fraud and false pretence ; and where most successful, 
 they load a man with the burden of enormous wealth, for which 
 he is accountable to Almighty GOD. It is useless, then, to pre- 
 tend that, in times like these, every one ought to stand alone. 
 We shall have to take a firm line hereafter against the habit of 
 leaning on direction : but that cannot alter the fact that we are 
 placed perhaps for the whole of our active life among snares 
 and labyrinths incalculable. Surely, therefore, it is important, 
 even though not of all things most important, that one should 
 know where to find a guide and comforter who may be 
 trusted. 
 
 Hitherto, while much has been said about the person 
 receiving confidences or confessions his qualifications, his 
 discernment, his reticence, his diverse treatment of matters, 
 great or small, that may be brought to him we have refrained 
 from defining his office and authority. But everybody knows 
 that, in the Primitive Church, he was always either a priest or 
 a bishop. 1 That, in itself, would not necessitate the same 
 
 1 For instance, Tertullian (De Pudic. xviii. 17) speaks of a repent- 
 ance " quae levioribus delictis veniam ab episcopo consequi poterit." 
 Here Mgr. Batiffol's comment is, "C'est, & notre connaissance, la 
 premiere fois dans la literature chretienne qu'il est fait si explicitement 
 mention de 1'intervention de 1'eveque dans la remission des peches." But,
 
 Hearers of Confession, and Spiritual Guides. 107 
 
 custom among ourselves. But must we not be convinced that, 
 for present needs, it is even more requisite, that he should be 
 one of the ordained ministers of JESUS CHRIST? 
 
 Let us speak with all due caution. A priest is not the only 
 possible person. In Chapter ii. was noticed the strong inclina- 
 tion that most good Protestants have to keep spiritual 
 intercourse within the sanctuary of the home circle. In 
 that case, the confidant would generally be one of the parents. 
 Could any better arrangement be thought of? Now, it would 
 seem that this must depend on how far the confidence is 
 desired to extend, and how long to last. One may believe 
 and believe firmly that, in numberless Christian homes, the 
 HOLY SPIRIT of counsel speaks by the lips of the father or 
 mother; and that their children may well "rise up and call" such 
 parents " blessed." Yet the question must be whether the 
 average home is like this : whether under every roof are to be 
 found wise and merciful and experienced guides of souls. 
 Maternal affection, though so pure and tender, is sometimes 
 tainted with partiality ; Rebekah was no true counsellor to 
 Jacob; and the mother of Louis IX, though she trained him to 
 be a saint, pursued with unkind jealousy his queen, her 
 daughter-in-law. Besides, " man goeth forth to his work and 
 to his labour." Neither sons nor daughters will remain through 
 life at their father's house ; nor will the mother's letters always 
 be delivered at those moments when the demand for counsel is 
 most urgent. Finally, the faults which mar the children's 
 career after infancy will often take shapes not indeed unfamiliar 
 but for various reasons unfit to be presented to the parents' 
 notice. S. Monica was not, and could not have been, the only 
 agent in the conversion of S. Augustine. This is a point which 
 requires no arguing. And it applies with double force to 
 conferences of men with pious women who are not near relations. 
 
 The essential things are that the person resorted to should 
 be (i) discreet and learned in this kind of science; (2) set 
 
 if Tertullian mentions bishops, did not others before him imply the 
 instrumentality of presbyters, though not quite so distinctly ? See, for 
 instance, S. Clement, (Ep. to the Corinthians, chap. Ivii. i) ; S. Polycarp 
 (Ad Philipp, cap. vi. i).
 
 io8 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 apart and consecrated by his office ; (3) in virtue of that office, 
 bound to attend to all who present themselves ; and (4) one 
 who will not betray the confidence reposed in him. 1 In every 
 part of the world some one should be at hand to deserve this 
 trust, and to respond to this demand; so that souls "weary and 
 heavy-laden," though parted far from the home of childhood, 
 may never have far to go to seek their rest. To him they may 
 come sometimes when disturbed by the wild fancies current 
 around them. From him they may gain suggestions as to 
 books to be read, or to be avoided. And when the good seed is 
 like to be choked among thorns, through continual stress of 
 business, this true friend may succeed in showing a way to 
 escape even from that temptation. To a great extent we must 
 "bear every man his own burden," and trust to the spiritual 
 armour received by each at his Confirmation : it would be 
 impracticable, if it were not unwise, for busy people to ask leave 
 of a director for each step before they take it. And yet, in 
 cases of extreme distress, might not something be gained if, 
 instead of going to those actually concerned in keeping up a 
 fraud, one could open his trouble by confession to a different 
 sort of adviser a man whose calling emancipates him from all 
 fetters of commercial insincerity, and who, together with the 
 authority, represents in a measure the poverty, of JESUS 
 CHRIST ? In the priest he would find at all events a dis- 
 interested hearer. 
 
 Very often, however, those who seek help from their clergy 
 are neither outcasts nor grievously hindered and perplexed, but 
 the most exemplary members of their flocks. 2 Still, it is right 
 
 1 What a beautiful picture is the following, of an old Northumbrian 
 saint ! " This true man of GOD [S. Cuthbert] penetrated into the wildest 
 valleys, and attracted ' shepherdless sheep ' by the fascination of his 
 presence and his words. So great was his skill in speaking, so intense his 
 eagerness to make his persuasions successful, such a glow lighted up his 
 angelic face, that no one of those present dared to hide from him the 
 secrets of his heart : all revealed openly, by confession, what they had 
 done ; for in truth they supposed that he must needs be aware of those 
 very deeds of theirs ; and after confession they wiped away their sins at 
 his bidding, by worthy fruits of repentance." (Quoted from Venerable 
 Bede, by Canon Bright in his Early English Church History, chap, vii.) 
 
 2 Like those of whom S. Gregory the Great writes, " Sunt plerique justi, 
 in quorum vita tantum est [Dei] gaudium, ut eis quaelibet peccatorum
 
 Hearers of Confession, and Spiritual Guides. log 
 
 that they should hear good words which may strengthen them, 
 and right that the priest should speak, as to those who 
 have a care like his own for the highest interests of souls. 
 Church-workers are ten times better if from time to time they 
 lay their over-taxed patience, their dissatisfaction, their too 
 eager criticism, at the feet of infinite Love, claiming also that 
 seasonable help which it is the pastor's duty to convey. All 
 that they know, he knows : there is the same trial to him as to 
 them : yet he meets them with what is better than sympathy, 
 bearing as he does a charge in CHRIST'S Name to " lift up the 
 hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and to make 
 straight paths for the feet." 
 
 The clergy are not all deserving. Were more prayer be- 
 stowed upon them less of wholesale censure, more of candid 
 and brotherly criticism they would perhaps display a greater 
 meekness of wisdom, and abound more in that earnestness 
 which few are without, yet very few have as much of as S. Paul 
 would have approved. But the point is that, in spite of short- 
 comings, they are the proper persons to act for CHRIST'S people. 
 When they hear confessions, they do but bring home to 
 individuals the same exhortations which they address to the 
 crowd from the pulpit. The same education and skill are 
 serviceable for both offices. In both, they practice the science 
 of the Cross; seeking and saving, through the one message that 
 enlightens, heals, restores. This is the great work to which the 
 clergy have been sent, one and all. This was the intention of 
 their Ordination : " The Church and Congregation whom you 
 must serve is CHRIST'S Spouse, and His Body. If it shall 
 happen the same Church, or any member thereof, to take hurt 
 or hindrance by reason of your negligence, ye know the great- 
 ness of the fault. . . . Wherefore see that you never cease your 
 labour, your care and diligence, until you have done all that 
 lieth in you, according to your bounden duty, to bring all such as 
 are committed to your charge, unto that agreement in the faith 
 
 pcenitentia praeponi nullatenus possit." They are they who humble 
 themselves for sins of thought, though persevering in right action ; and 
 humble themselves more than others do for evil deeds. For these there 
 is indeed "joy in heaven." (S. Greg. lib. ii. Horn, xxxiv. in S. Luc. xv.)
 
 no The Use of Penitence. 
 
 and knowledge of GOD, and to that ripeness and perfectness of 
 age in CHRIST, that there be no place left among you, either for 
 error in religion, or for viciousness in life." 1 
 
 It is altogether impossible that so weighty a charge can be 
 accepted and fulfilled except by pastors who meet their people 
 one by one, and treat them according to their several require- 
 ments, whether in their spiritual health or in sickness. They 
 must be shepherds who know their sheep, and are known of 
 them. 
 
 Thus far, then, the conclusion is in favour of confession to 
 the priest as the proper adviser, even though the things con- 
 fessed be chiefly lesser matters, which the Fathers would have 
 been content to have mentioned only in private prayer. It has 
 been thought that this change is warranted by the altered 
 circumstances of the age we live in, when difficulties and 
 perplexities increase daily around our path. But let it be 
 observed, once more, that we have not yet introduced the 
 ministry of Absolution. Before coming to that, we should take 
 a little more pains to understand what the Church has ruled as 
 to the great or deadly sins : a subject which will occupy our 
 attention in the following chapter. 
 
 1 From the Form of Ordering of Priests in the Ordinal appended to 
 our Book of Common Prayer.
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 1 1 1 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 
 
 ACCORDING to the view taken in the last chapter, of the use of 
 auricular confession, its whole object might have been to profit 
 by the advice of a wise spiritual guide. For it is obvious that, 
 the more such a true friend has been allowed to become 
 acquainted with one's special trials and perplexities, the more 
 justly he may claim submission to his charitable counsels. 
 One need not, then, be surprised if confession on this basis is 
 much resorted to at the present time. It may be as good a 
 way to secure direction if that is the one thing desired as 
 any other. However, when direction is made the sole object, 
 the duty of confessing to God is in some danger of being 
 forgotten ; and then, will the confessions made be very real ? 
 Surely a penitent may feel that he has absolute discretion, and 
 can reveal as many of his faults, or as few, as he pleases. The 
 discretion would do no harm to a humble-minded person, 
 because he would be much too honest to save himself trouble 
 by concealment. But some, surely, would imagine themselves 
 standing at a high spiritual level ; and their confessions would 
 be meagre as the Pharisee's. 
 
 Besides, confession which ends only in advice is not proper 
 for clergy to engage in by virtue of their sacred calling. It 
 may be most convenient that they should do so (for the reasons 
 that we have seen already) ; but, cceteris paribus, any prudent 
 and charitable Christian might give such counsel as is 
 commonly required. 
 
 I. But to obtain direction is neither the sole object, nor a 
 principal part of the object, of going to confession. This is not
 
 112 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 said as retracting anything, or minimising the perplexities 
 which beset earnest people. But the right end of Confession is 
 Absolution. 1 It must be the business of the next chapter to 
 make a careful study of what absolving means. Let it suffice 
 for the present to say that the sins which GOD requires His 
 children to confess are to be regarded as a serious burden or 
 bondage, from which there is no escape but by His own 
 authoritative deliverance. All the advice in the world would 
 not avail without this. We go to Confession that we may be 
 delivered from the guilt of our sins by Absolution. 
 
 This should be borne in mind by all who resort to the 
 practice. One cannot indeed deny that very slight faults are 
 now made the substance of confession offered by good people 
 at stated seasons confessions to which a simple prayer with 
 blessing might be thought a more appropriate termination. 
 The Fathers would have considered that to be enough. But 
 perhaps the tendency of our English Prayer Book is to bring 
 these lighter matters within reach of the Church's absolving 
 power. That must be so, at least, if what the priest pronounces 
 at the daily Office be a true Absolution. When we consider 
 this question later on, we shall see that the intention there is 
 a little doubtful. 2 But so far as those words at Matins do 
 convey a real deliverance, we must think that their benefit would 
 extend to common daily faults.3 And so, perhaps, our people 
 
 1 So Mr. Drury says, with his wonted fairness : " Confession and 
 Absolution are complementary acts ; and if Confession be sincere, it is as 
 inseparable from Absolution, as the convex from the concave side of a 
 circle." (Confession and Absolution, p. 109.) I should not have ventured 
 to go quite so far as this ; for confession of sins (in some form) seems to 
 me to be among the crroixia, while ministerial absolution is a later acces- 
 sory, highly useful and gracious, yet not indispensable to the former. 
 
 2 See Postscript II. to chap, vii., and the Appendix which follows there. 
 Many, no doubt, take that in Matins for a real absolution. Hence the com- 
 mon custom of facing towards the people to pronounce it a custom which 
 has no support from the rubric. Sancroft said that people who prayed for 
 William III. should have a second absolution at the end of the service, 
 besides that at the beginning ! (See Plumptre's Life of Bp. Ken, ii. p. 74.) 
 
 3 Mr. Drury quotes the Puritan Fulke saying, " The minister hath 
 authority to remit sins, not only to them that be sick, but also to them 
 that be whole ; and daily doth pronounce the Absolution," etc. These 
 words sound kindly, although perhaps " authority to remit " meant much 
 less to Fulke than it does to us.
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 113 
 
 have learned to come to their private auricular confessions 
 with the same motive : accounting no guilt of theirs too small 
 to be brought under the authority of this word. We remember, 
 of course, that " to whomsoever much is given, of him shall 
 much be required." That is thought equitable between man 
 and man ; and no less can be expected when actions are 
 weighed in the scales of heaven. A servant, therefore, who has 
 long known his Divine Master's will and have not we, in the 
 English Church ? is bound to judge himself very strictly, even 
 for slight instances of disobedience. Probably that was what 
 S. Francis de Sales meant, when teaching that "venial sins 
 furnish matter for sacramental absolution." 1 He referred to 
 things which would have been venial for ignorant people or begin- 
 ners; but which assume a graver complexion when they are 
 the faults of regular communicants. In persons thus highly 
 favoured, repentance should be ever deepening. "It seems to 
 the purer soul that it needs for itself a work of cleansing grace, 
 as deep and searching as the most fallen can need : not that 
 there is no difference in sins, but that the least fault in the eyes 
 of the more saintly appears a worse evil, than deadly sin 
 appears to the more fallen." 2 So, if it be an error, it is erring 
 on the safer side, when the solemn reconciliation is sought for 
 under conditions like these. 
 
 Nevertheless, our Church draws a distinction between the 
 great and the small ; and seems to require that the former 
 only should be matter for (what is called) " sacramental " 
 confession, with absolutions Examples of this rarely occur. 
 But, on two occasions, the most solemn that can be in a 
 soul's probation, the private ministration by a priest to 
 individual penitents is both plainly described and strenuously 
 urged. The first is before coming to feed on CHRIST'S Body 
 and Blood in the most blessed Sacrament ; the second, before 
 going to meet our Judge in another world. Then, our English 
 
 1 Esprit de S. Frangois de Sales, E.T. p. 53. 
 
 2 Sermons by Canon T. T. Carter, p. 93. 
 
 3 See note on Penitence as a sacrament, near the end of Chap. i. 
 " Sacramental confession " is the term commonly employed among 
 Church people, though not in the Prayer Book.
 
 114 The U $e of Penitence. 
 
 Church says definitely, " Open your grief : " " make special 
 confession of your sins." She does not say so to all alike ; but 
 either to those dying persons who " feel their consciences 
 troubled by any weighty matter," or those intending com- 
 municants who, having " transgressed the rule of GOD'S 
 commandments," whether by actual crimes or habitual malice 
 of will, " cannot quiet their own consciences therein." That is 
 evidently the intention. Grievous sinners are to confess to the 
 priest, and from him to obtain "the benefit of absolution." 1 
 " Ghostly counsel and advice " are also specified : but these can 
 hardly be understood here as bearing on the higher life, because 
 they must refer only to the grave transgressions " by will, word, 
 or deed," which have been confessed. The exhortation in our 
 Prayer Book is not addressed to those who are believed to be in 
 a state of grace, going on unto perfection. 
 
 II. Now this is an old distinction between mortal and 
 venial. There must, of course, be gradations of guilt ; 
 according to the degrees of mischief inherent in various kinds 
 of wrong-doing ; the presence, or absence, of deliberate malice ; 
 the doer's perception of consequences. Most of this is 
 discernible by a man's natural moral sense. Again, by the 
 Law of Moses, not only were the chief offences ranked together 
 under two Tables, but penalties were measured by the criminal's 
 intention, or the condition of the person injured. 2 But, among 
 Christians, the doctrine of mortal or deadly sins was founded 
 always on a verse of S. John : " If any man see his brother 
 sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and GOD will give 
 him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto 
 death : not concerning this do I say that he should make 
 request. All unrighteousness is sin : and there is a sin not 
 unto death." If this is a solitary text, it contains nevertheless 
 a statement which the apostle plainly intended to be 
 
 1 A study of the rubrics and exhortations in our Communion Office 
 leads to the conclusion that the clergy are set as guardians of holy things 
 on GOD'S behalf. In the intention of our Church they have a charge 
 like the Levites, who pitched their tents around the Tabernacle, lest any 
 who were unclean should approach to worship. 
 
 - See Leviticus iv., and following chapters.
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 115 
 
 authoritative, and which is calculated to arrest the attention of 
 all who hear it. From the time that that Epistle was penned, 
 there could be no doubt of the distinction of sins, or the 
 distinctive treatment required for those in each category. 
 
 Two things were left to the Church's prudent discretion. 
 First, what sins were these " sins unto death ? " And, secondly, 
 were they remissible by any other means, if not by the Church's 
 pardon ? 
 
 How the first of these points was settled in the earliest 
 period we have seen already. Three reserved sins were the 
 mortal ones to begin with. But others were soon added, and 
 were held little less scandalous and destructive than the first. 
 We noted the sternness of the discipline (when discipline was 
 conceded), and how it has been thought that comparatively few 
 of the guilty can have had courage to face it. 1 The early 
 Christians knew nothing of our modern sensitiveness ; and 
 acquiesced in punishments which sound to us appalling, both 
 by the pain while they lasted, and the almost interminable 
 duration in certain cases. 
 
 Much gentler views prevailed in course of time ; and yet 
 deadly sins were never reckoned on the same level, nor corrected 
 with the same mildness, as venial. 2 
 
 We have seen how the great crimes were dreaded for the 
 injury they did to corporate Christian life. We must now 
 consider their relation to baptismal grace. 
 
 It is evident that the early Fathers were a good deal 
 perplexed what to do about sins occurring after baptism.3 We 
 
 1 Origen proposes seven ways of repentance, and sets this last of the 
 seven as most formidable of all. As for Tertullian, a tenth part of what 
 he describes in the De Pcenitentia would be horrible. His " lacrymari et 
 mugire dies noctesque " might very well suggest an asylum of lunatics ! 
 
 2 I am not aware that the " sin against the HOLY GHOST " was ever 
 brought under the Church's discipline. Nor, probably, what Bishop 
 Andrewes calls TO. e? 7rp65po/m TTJS /card UvevfiaTos ayiov \ all of which (as 
 enumerated by Newman) were spiritual sins, such as despair, pre- 
 sumption, cavilling at the truth, and obstinate impenitence. 
 
 3 The awful warning in Heb. x. 26, 27 would be well remembered. 
 Of course, that <pofiepa. -m ^/c5ox^ xpicreus is for those who continue wilfully 
 to sin after initiation (e/cowtas afj.a.pro.v6vr^v) : not for those who sin, and 
 afterwards repent. But the tremendous flames of Divine wrath are felt 
 to be very near, when we listen to these verses.
 
 n6 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 should remember that the cases for which they had to provide 
 were chiefly of persons baptised when of full age. The custom 
 of postponing the sacrament of initiation has been alluded to 
 as tending to narrow the field for public penitence. But we 
 must now think of those persons who, having at last been 
 regenerated as adults, had subsequently fallen. The facts as 
 to the age of candidates are not quite clear. For instance, the 
 most ancient fonts are not much earlier than Constantine ; and 
 their shape would have served for either infants or men of full 
 stature. The frescoes in the catacombs rarely depict this 
 function, and afford very little assistance. 1 What appears most 
 probable is, that infants were often presented during the earliest 
 period, but not so commonly from the middle of the third 
 century. Thenceforward, the greater number were kept back, 
 to choose for themselves when they came to riper years. 2 The 
 institution of the catechumenate, with its grades, about that 
 time, marks a growing disposition to defer the sacrament. 
 Then, very soon, followed that great defection under the 
 Decian persecution, which inspired such widespread alarm. 
 After that, S. Cyprian still had the courage to urge that 
 infants of the youngest age should be brought, 3 and the custom 
 rooted itself by degrees, so far as Numidia and Mauretania 
 were concerned. 4 But the indications are that a contrary use 
 
 1 The earliest representation is said to be that from the cemetery of 
 S. Calixtus, in which the baptised is a youth. (See Mr. Wharton 
 Marriott's article on "Baptism," in Smith's Diet. Chr. Antiquities.) The 
 custom probably was, as depicted there, to baptise adults by affusion, 
 with immersion of the feet only : submersion would come in later. In 
 that case, the shallowness of ancient fonts would present no difficulty. 
 
 2 S. Irenaeus (II. chap. xxii. 4), certainly includes " infantes et parvulos " 
 among those who " renascuntur ad Deum." But Tertullian, a little later, 
 advocates the discontinuance of infant baptism. 
 
 3 See S. Cyprian (Ep. lix., or Ixiv. : being the Synodical Letter of a 
 Council of Carthage, A.D. 253). It is to be observed, that Carthage soon 
 became virtually a patriarchal See. Thus Canon i. of the Synod of Hippo, 
 A.D. 393, requires that " all African provinces shall be guided by the 
 Church of Carthage." (Quoted from Hefele.) 
 
 * S. Augustine (Serm. ccxxiii.) says, " Infantes isti, quos cernitis 
 exterius dealbatos, interiusque mundatos, qui candore vestium splendorem 
 mentium prasfigurant," etc. These " infantes," however, were old enough 
 to receive instruction. But elsewhere (Dc Gencsi, lib. x.), he speaks of 
 parents running to receive the grace of Holy Baptism for their little ones.
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 117 
 
 prevailed elsewhere ; and particularly in the Eastern provinces. 
 So late as A.D. 404, at a great Paschal function at Constanti- 
 nople, we read that about three thousand adult catechumens 
 were expected. 1 This is the more remarkable, because the New 
 Rome had never been a heathen city to the same extent as the 
 ancient capital ; 2 and when we remember that nearly eighty 
 years had elapsed since the foundation by Constantine, we can 
 see that most of these candidates must have been born of 
 Christian parents. 
 
 Facts like these point to a real anxiety felt by the Primitive 
 Church in respect of the baptismal adoption. To us, modern 
 Englishmen, that is an almost forgotten source of distress. We 
 are inclined to think much better of human nature unaided, and 
 to place less reliance on supernatural transformation. We are not 
 curious about inward changes wrought from above. We think, 
 perhaps, that signs of improvement are not lacking, but we 
 trace these to causes other than, even prior to, the sacraments ; 
 and the Church is no longer, to our view, a plot of holy ground, 
 fair and beautiful amid a howling wilderness. Very different 
 was the consciousness of the persecuted early Christians.s To 
 them it must have been a welcome thought, and constantly 
 cherished, that they might walk with GOD'S angels, though in 
 the fiery furnace ; 4 nay, that their ascended LORD Himself 
 might regard them with satisfaction ; that they should be that 
 fearless " little flock," to whom it was " the FATHER'S good 
 pleasure to give the kingdom." " This is my resting-place for 
 
 S. Chrysostom (Horn. xiii. in Heb.), is strong against postponement of 
 baptism by catechumens till the approach of death. Yet both he and 
 S. Gregory Nazianzen on the whole discourage infant baptism : (though, 
 in Oral, xl., of the latter, chap. xvii. should be compared with xxviii.) 
 Both these saints were themselves baptised as adults. 
 
 1 See Palladius' Life of S. Chrysostom, chap. ix. 
 
 2 Theodoret (Hist. i. 16), gives a letter of Constantine: " In the city 
 which bears our name, a great number of persons have, through the 
 providential care of GOD the Saviour, been adopted into the holy 
 Church." 
 
 3 It is interesting to compare what Apologists say on the blessedness 
 and privileges of Christians, with a passage like Col. i. u, and following 
 verses. 
 
 4 See Alban Butler on the Dedication of S. Michael, with special 
 reference to a church built by Constantine.
 
 Ii8 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 ever : here will I dwell, for I have a delight therein." There 
 was real passionate longing in those days to remain true to 
 the character that He had once impressed : " They are not of 
 the world, even as I am not of the world." And their hopes 
 were centered in that new birth which the great " Teacher come 
 from GOD " had set in the forefront of His Gospel, to be the 
 true possession of His redeemed, through " water and the 
 HOLY SPIRIT." So to stand forth before the eyes of the 
 heathen " an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 
 a people for GOD'S own possession, to show forth the 
 excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness into His 
 marvellous light." 
 
 In fact, baptism came to be regarded as not merely the 
 initiation, but the crisis, of a Christian's life. S. Basil 1 and 
 others insist upon a vital change in the soul that is thus made 
 partaker of the death, burial, and resurrection of JESUS 
 CHRIST. Schemes of doctrine were drawn up, and delivered 
 to catechumens by regular oral instruction, that they might 
 come to the Font with an enlightened faith, and wills sur- 
 rendered to the obedience of CHRIST. 2 It was always hoped 
 that baptism (particularly if completed by the laying on of 
 hands), would be the seal of a sincere conversion, corresponding 
 to the soul's renewal by water and the HOLY GHOST. Thus 
 the deterioration and degradation that sin effects would be 
 characteristic only of the years before, not after, baptism. 3 Sins 
 might have been ever so many in the unregenerate state ; " but 
 after that life-giving water succoured me " says S. Cyprian 
 " washing away the stain of former years, ... to sin no more 
 has come of faith, as heretofore to sin had come of human 
 error." 4 The newly-baptised had passed through the gate of 
 death to a glorious resurrection in CHRIST : he had been 
 " sometime darkness, but now he was light in the LORD," and 
 
 1 S. Basil (De Bapt. ii. qu. i). 
 
 - See, here, the famous Lectures by S. Cyril of Jerusalem. See also 
 Justin Martyr's interesting account of the preparation for baptism. 
 (Apol. i. 61.) 
 
 3 On confession before baptism, see S. Cyril's Lectures i. 5. 
 
 * S. Cyprian (Ad Donat. 3) who, however, also strongly advocated the 
 baptism of infants, in Christian families. See above.
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. ng 
 
 must " walk as a child of light." " Let not sin therefore reign 
 in your mortal body." " Sin shall not have dominion over 
 you." All that boldness of hope which S. Paul had imparted to 
 the disciples in Rome was infused into the patristic teaching on 
 the new life of GOD'S adopted children. " By the HOLY 
 SPIRIT," says S. Basil, 1 " paradise is restored, we ascend to the 
 kingdom of heaven, we return to the adoption of sons : we 
 have confidence given to call GOD our FATHER, to be made 
 partakers of the grace of CHRIST, children of light, and heirs of 
 eternal glory : in a word, to be filled with all fulness of 
 blessing." 
 
 Even when making their defence to heathens, the early 
 Christians would boast of their divine descent. "Christians," says 
 the Apologist Aristides, " reckon their race (yeveaAoyovvrou) from 
 the LORD JESUS CHRIST : He is the SON of GOD most high." 
 Although, in addressing Caesar, the sacrament might not be 
 alluded to particularly and by name, these faithful souls could 
 not refrain from hinting, in such ways as were possible, at the 
 glory of their regeneration. Indeed, Justin Martyr speaks 
 unreservedly of the inward grace; fearing, as he says, to be 
 thought insincere (Trovypevtiv rl ev ry 6^7/yr/o-et), if he omitted this. 2 
 
 Perseverance, then, was counted upon, after baptism.3 
 " When we descend into the water," says Hermas, (about A.D. 
 
 1 S. Basil (Df Spir. Sancto, xv. 36). 
 
 2 Apology of Aristides, xv., Justin Martyr, Apol. i. 61. 
 
 3 Passages like the following tend to show how the earlier writers 
 fixed their attention on the baptismal cleansing, and with what difficulty 
 they made room for any subsequent forgiveness. The first quoted is not 
 generally reckoned a rigorist : 
 
 Hennas (Mandat. iv. 3) : " Edam nunc, domine, audivi a quibusdam 
 doctoribus, quod alia pcenitentia non est nisi ilia, cum in aquam des- 
 cendimus, et accipimus remissionem peccatorum nostrorum, ulterius non 
 peccare, sed in castitate permanere. ... Si quis post vocationem illam 
 magnam et sanctam tentatus fuerit a diabolo, et peccaverit, unam 
 poenitentiam habet. Si autem subinde peccat, et poenitentiam agat, non 
 proderit homini talia agenti: difficile enim vivit Deo." 
 
 Clem. Alex. (Strom, ii. 13) : rbv oftv el\t](p6ra TT\V &<f>e<nv rwv ajjLapTiwv owe 
 ?TI dfj-aprdveiv Xfrf- ^ 7r ' 7*P T J? T/X^TT; Kal f^ovr; fj-eravotq. ruiv a.fj.a.pri.(jiv (avrij civ elr) rwi> 
 irpovirap^6.vri>}v Kara rbv fOvmbv /ecu irpiarov fiiov rov ev dyvoiq. Xyo>) avrlKa. rots 
 irpdKfirai fj-frdvoia r) KaOalpovcra. rbv r6irov TTJS i/'fx^s rCiv Tr\T}^e\r}fj.a.T(av . . . 
 ovv [6 Kt^pios] &\\T)t> eiri rots KO.V rrj Trcerrei TrepnriirTOvffi TLVL irXTj/u/xeX^/uari, 
 &v, fj-erdvoiav Sevrtpav . . . p.ia.v frt (jLerdvoiav dfj-erav^iYrov . . . S6Ki)<Tis /xeravoiay, 
 ov /ifrdvoia., rb TroXXaxts airetcr^ai a\rfyvu[j.Tiv etf> ols ir\rifJLfj.e\oii/u.ev iro\\dKis. [I OW6
 
 I2O The Use of Penitence. 
 
 140,) "we receive remission of sins, that we may not sin any 
 more, but continue in purity." And his hearer is apparently 
 satisfied, for he says, " Master, I revived (revixi) when I heard 
 this ; for now I know I shall be safe, if I add not fresh sins to 
 the former." 1 Tertullian, Clement, and Origen, are all much to 
 the same effect. " We are not therefore washed, that we should 
 cease to offend, but because we have already ceased." [That is, 
 we ought to have utterly renounced our sins before we were 
 christened.] The modern world thinks so little now of baptism, 
 that one must emphasise to the utmost this high regard in 
 which it was held by the ancient Church. Even if we pass on 
 to a western writer so late as Laurence of Novara, we find that 
 his one fear for neophytes is lest they should forget their 
 cleansing from old sins. " The fountain never fails : since 
 baptism thou hast knowledge to learn good and evil, as judge 
 and arbiter to thyself." What he is sure of is, that they should 
 never lose faith in the permanence of the grace of their regener- 
 ation. 2 We should give great attention to this sort of language, 
 which helps us to understand the severe censures passed upon 
 the lapsed. 
 
 For, of course, disappointment inevitably had its turn. The 
 enemy was still prowling round the fold ; and Christians of the 
 second or third century stood in the same need of being warned 
 against his temptations, as those at Corinth to whom S. Paul 
 had addressed himself. Even with warning given, the baptised 
 did not keep their watch unblamed. We must not indeed 
 refuse to an age of martyrs that peculiar glory which belongs to 
 the noble candidatus exercitus? Men who would sooner die 
 than deny their Christian profession must have kept themselves 
 
 this quotation to Dr. Swete's " Review of Penit. Discipline," in the 
 Journal Th. Studies, April, 1903.] 
 
 Origen, (Horn. ii. in Levit. iv.) seems more than half inclined to 
 agree with those who teach that " Apud nos una tantummodo venia est 
 peccatorum, quae per lavacri gratiam in initiis datur. Nulla post haec 
 peccanti misericordia conceditur," etc. But he presently reflects that this 
 would cause despair. 
 
 1 Hermas (Mandat. iv. 3). 
 
 2 S. Laur. Mellifl. (Horn. i. De Pixnit.) 
 
 3 For the extraordinary reverence felt by the Fathers for martyrs, see 
 e.g. S. Basil (Horn. In xl. Marty res) or S. Greg. Naz. (Orat. iv. 69).
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 121 
 
 to a wonderful extent " unspotted from the world." Yet many 
 of the crimes familiar to " Gentiles who know not GOD " would 
 be seen also among those "before whose eyes JESUS CHRIST 
 had been openly set forth crucified." Fierce outbursts of 
 passion would be followed by shedding of blood ; sacrilegious 
 communions would be made from time to time by those of 
 impure life. And, in contrast to the splendid heroism of the 
 martyrs, cowards would run to the heathen temples to save 
 their lives by an act of apostasy. 
 
 Due provision was made for these things in course of years. 
 Popes like Calixtus and Cornelius, or later, Siricius and Celestine, 
 decreed what was to be done in various specified cases, and the 
 lapsed ceased to cause insuperable hindrance to the Church's 
 action. Those who had courage underwent the discipline 
 prescribed, and at its termination were reconciled. Yet it 
 would seem that the difficulty was, for some time, thought 
 insuperable. And one can well imagine the extreme indigna- 
 tion, wonder, and perplexity with which the faithful remnant 
 would regard such "despite done to the Spirit of grace." What 
 were these unhappy creatures in their madness doing ? In- 
 viting Babylon to exult over Sion, and the "world-rulers of this 
 darkness" over the children of light! Nay, were they not 
 "treading under foot the SON of GOD ? " How they had 
 disappointed the strong expectation that grace received at the 
 Font would never fail, that the new life by water and the HOLY 
 GHOST would be an abiding citizenship in heaven! We cannot 
 be surprised at the unwillingness to restore these lapsed 
 Christians. How was it possible that they could be forgiven ? 
 They had chosen to go back to paganism with all its abomina- 
 tions, and could have no right to privileges which they had 
 despised and forfeited. Had not the LORD Himself declared, 
 that they who deny Him in the presence of men shall be denied 
 before the angels of GOD ? Nay, of all the greater transgres- 
 sions was it not written, that they who do them "shall not 
 inherit the kingdom of GOD?" 
 
 So the controversy raged for many years, the rigorists 
 not being easily convinced or silenced. We find different 
 counsels prevailing in different Churches : Asia was passionate,
 
 122 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 turbulent, unrelenting, while Rome and Alexandria were more 
 inclined to mildness and mercy. At Carthage, the violence of 
 Tertullian as a Montanist was soon succeeded by the wiser 
 gentleness of S. Cyprian. This great martyr-bishop, though he 
 honoured Tertullian as his " master," refused to follow him in 
 his pleading for absolute and irreversible exclusion. 1 Tertullian 
 would reserve the pardon of lapsed Christians to GOD only; but 
 S. Cyprian brought them within the reach of the Church's 
 penitence. He said that it made all the difference whether 
 their deadly offence had been given freely and wilfully, or under 
 strong pressure with threatening. He insisted on a merciful 
 consideration for those who, although they had sacrificed to an 
 idol, had only consented after enduring extremity of torture. 2 
 His letter to Antonianus is a model of considerate kindness 
 coupled with firmness: even when the excuse of torture was not 
 alleged, he was all for letting the lapsed retrieve their character 
 if they would. 3 Thus, if the storm of persecution still raged 
 around, he would shorten their punishment, so as to enable 
 them to meet death bravely next time, and with the full hope 
 of Christians. Or, if a quiet interval had succeeded, he would 
 still promise them Communion before they died, with or without 
 the public reconciliation. In all which he showed his remark- 
 able prudence and largeness of heart. He was not afraid of a 
 righteous strictness ; and many in Carthage blamed him for 
 being too severe. But he was also constantly reviled by an 
 
 1 As a Catholic, Tertullian had said that the lapsed might be restored, 
 if the whole Church laboured together to bring them back, by a common 
 repentance and fervent intercession. As a Montanist, he closed the door 
 entirely, so far as the Church's action was concerned ; quoting Heb. vi. 
 4-8, and i S. John v. 16, and arguing that the Prodigal Son affords no 
 encouragement except to heathens repenting. It does not follow that he 
 condemned the lapsed, or adulterers, to final reprobation : " sed de venia 
 Deo reservamus." 
 
 2 S. Cypr. Ep. liii. (Ivi.) : " Puto his indulgentiam Domini non de- 
 futuram quos constat . . . passes esse carcerem, diu ac longa iteratione 
 cruciantibus repugnasse : ut quod, in novissimo, infirmitatis carnis 
 subactum videtur, meritorum prascedentium defensione relevatur." The 
 same leniency is to be observed in another martyr-saint, S. Peter of 
 Alexandria, who says, of some who had given way after torture, ret ort-y/otara 
 TOV 'Iijffov (vSdKvwTai. ev rots <rufj.affiv avruv. (S. Petri. Alex. Canon i. A.D. 
 306.) 
 
 3 S. Cypr. Ep. lii. (lv.).
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 123 
 
 opposite party for what was termed his laxness; and these would 
 have refused altogether what even he only dared to concede 
 in extremis? That they should be admitted to penitence at all, 
 was more than they had a right to expect : perhaps, by an 
 utmost stretch of charity, they might be included ; but then 
 they must seek earnestly, with much chastisement of self, and 
 many tears. 2 Nor must they suppose that the same road could 
 be trodden again if they relapsed. This was the " second 
 plank for the drowning, after ship wreck;" 3 the very last resource 
 that could be thought of. It is surprising to find one so tender- 
 hearted as S. Ambrose, at his own later date, still holding fast to 
 the seme/, though no longer requiring discipline in all its horrors. 4 
 III. Now, if the limits were so short to the mercy which was 
 canonical, one can see that some change would be imperative, 
 either in relaxing the public exomologesis, or providing a sub- 
 stitute for it. Thus we feel that there would be a growing 
 inclination towards private confession, apart from that increased 
 attention to secret sins which was noticed in Chap. v. Had the 
 public penitents continued to be only those guilty of homicide, 
 adultery, or heresy (which would take the place of apostasy 
 when persecution from the heathen government had ceased), 5 it 
 would still be found less and less possible to drive all into the 
 ranks of the substrati, having so little hope as they had of 
 
 1 Nor does S. Cyprian concede it, even then, to those who had 
 delayed repentance till death was imminent. (" Prohibendos omnino 
 censuimus a spe communionis et pacis," Ep. lii. 19.) On this subject, 
 consult Canon Bright's Notes on Canon xiii. of Niccea. At last, Pope 
 Celestine I. (A.D. 422-432) ruled that all who earnestly desired should be 
 received to penitence. (Martene, De. Ant. Rit. lib. i. 2, art. 2.) 
 
 2 See Origen, (Horn. ii. in Levit. iv.) : " via dura et laboriosa . . . 
 fiunt ei lacrymas suas panes die ac nocte ... si carnem tuam macer- 
 avaris," etc. 
 
 3 Commonly quoted from S. Jerome, (Ad Demetriodem, Ep. cxxxi. 9,) 
 but really found, much earlier, in Tertullian (De Pcenitentia, cap. iv.). 
 
 See S. Ambros. (De Pan. lib. ii. cap. x.) : " Merito reprehenduntur 
 qui saspius agendam pcenitentiam putant, quia luxuriantur in Christo . . . 
 Sicut unum baptisma, ita una poenitentia." 
 
 5 Heresy was taken to be almost as black a crime as apostasy. 
 Theodoret hates the Arians as heartily as he does Julian the Apostate. 
 And he says, " When the devil could no longer set up the worship of the 
 creature [by idolatry] , he tried to bring down the Creator to a level with 
 the creature [by heresy] ." (See Theod. Hist. bk. i. chap, ii.)
 
 124 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 speedy recovery. 1 What, indeed, exactly was done, and where 
 and when it began, we lack information to decide. All good 
 men recognised the Divine prerogative of pardon as superseding 
 ecclesiastical, or any human regulations. From the Divine 
 forgiveness, not the worst offenders were excluded, if they came, 
 like David, with that broken and contrite heart which GOD will 
 not despise. 2 As to whether the Church, their mother, also 
 made provision for them, opinions differ ; or rather, they differ 
 as to what the provision was ; for it could not be, in those days, 
 that souls were left each to its own unaided efforts. But some 
 historians not all maintain that sinners who gave proof of 
 genuine sorrow were absolved in private ; without waiting for 
 that public restoration of privileges which they had perhaps 
 forfeited beyond recall ; or might not expect till death was close 
 at hand. 3 Martene is quite certain that, until the pontificate of 
 Nicolas I. (A.D. 858-867), there was no readmission to Com- 
 munion till after the completion of whatever penance had been 
 enjoined : so that, if private absolution was really granted 
 earlier, this must have been kept secret for a considerable time ; 
 unless which is quite possible penitents, though known to 
 have been absolved, went on still unhouselled (x w /^s -poo-^opas), 
 as they might without incurring public disgrace. 4 However, 
 Morinus and others thinks that the forum internum did at any 
 
 1 Besides the above-mentioned, one inducement to reform may have 
 been the dread of insincere confessions or retractations made in public. 
 Even so early as the second century, see what is told of the heretic 
 Cerdon by S. Irenaeus (iii. 4). 
 
 - Compare S. Jerome (Ep. cxlvii. 3) : " Nihil ita repugnat Deo, quam 
 cor impcenitens, Solum crimen est, quod veniam consequi non potest." 
 And S. Augustine (Serm. Ixxi. 7) : " Pcenitentiae quorumque criminum 
 locus in Ecclesia non negatur . . . Ipsa impcenitentia est Spiritus 
 blasphemia, quae non remittetur," etc. 
 
 3 Canon xiii. of Nicaea makes no promise except to the dying. For 
 the more liberal view adopted afterwards, see S. Thomas Aqu. (P. iii. : 
 Q. Ixxxiv. Art. 10). 
 
 4 If we consult the most ancient authorities, Hermas defers pardon till 
 the time when the penitent " perpassus fuerit omnia quae illi instituta 
 fuerint." Tertullian probably means the same when he says, " Con- 
 fessione poenitentia nascitur." Confession is only the beginning ; then 
 penitence must be rendered; and at the last, follows absolution. (See 
 Hermas, Simil. vii. ; Tertullian, DC Pcenit. ix.) 
 
 s On the doctrine of Morinus and the Jesuits, see, however, a note, 
 p. 84.
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 125 
 
 rate always exist by the side of the other ; and if the priest's 
 part was to absolve, not from censures, but from the actual guilt 
 of sin, one is strongly persuaded to believe that he would not 
 defer this boon for a single moment after true contrition had 
 been manifested. If we might translate Sozomen's aTreAve by 
 " he absolved them " (in the passage quoted in Chap, v.), we 
 should have clear proof that so it was. Unfortunately, cki-cAve is 
 more likely to be the equivalent of dimisit, than of reinisit. 
 Canon Bright's learned note on the nth Canon of Nicaea, 
 while full of information on the grades of penitents, throws no 
 light on the question of private absolution. 1 
 
 IV. However, we should be wandering a little from our proper 
 course, if we spent time in labouring to prove the institution of 
 a private reconciliation of sinners in the early Church. What 
 we had to do in this chapter was to show that, whether dealt 
 with privately or by the public discipline, deadly sins were 
 always classed apart from venial, and always, if pardonable, 
 subjected to absolution. Perhaps it might have been supposed 
 that the strong view taken of these grave offences would have 
 been peculiar to seasons of exceptional trial and difficulty, 
 as when persecution was raging. Now, we have seen what 
 disappointment and horror were felt when the grace of 
 regeneration failed to keep baptised persons from lapsing into 
 idolatry. So long as Christian apologists could hold up their 
 heads and declare that " Christians lead good lives, and, though 
 they are punished as malefactors, they who hate them can give 
 no reason for their hatred," 2 there was always hope that the 
 
 1 What the ordinary course was, is stated very clearly in the 30th 
 Canon of the Council of Hippo : " The time of penance shall be appointed 
 by the bishop, in proportion to the greatness of the sin. Priests may not 
 absolve any penitents without the consent of the bishop unless the bishop 
 is absent, and it is a case of necessity. If an offence is publicly known, 
 the penitent shall receive the imposition of hands before the apsis." This 
 last sentence seems to imply that the absolution might be in private, if 
 the offence had not been " publicly known." (See Hefele, E.T. vol. ii. 
 p. 399.) But this Canon is not earlier than A.D. 393. 
 
 2 For a defence of Christian morality, see the Epistle to Diognetus 
 (chap. v. ad fin.). On the other hand, the corruption prevalent in most 
 heathen households is admitted not only by satirists, but by a sober writer 
 like Quintilian, who deprecates a home education for young children on 
 this account. (See De Instil. Orat. lib. i. cap. 2.)
 
 126 The. Use of Penitence. 
 
 Church would hold her ground. Fire and sword and torture 
 would have no power to shake the firmness of a pure conscience, 
 and a soul prepared by prayer. 1 Whereas, if the answer were 
 taken from them through the unworthy conduct of false brethren, 
 all seemed lost. We can therefore well understand how such 
 severe punishment came to be meted out to the prime offenders. 
 But it would be quite a mistake to think that there was any 
 change of opinion about deadly sins, after the Church obtained 
 peace under Constantine. The distinction laid down in i S. 
 John v. was never forgotten. Pass on to S. Augustine, in whose 
 time all organised persecution had long ceased. The list of sins 
 has been much lengthened now ; but the Church's judgment of 
 them is the same. S. Augustine has still the same dividing line 
 to draw between peccata quotidiana sine quibus nemo esse potest, 
 and these other mortifera the " sins unto death." These may 
 or may not be brought under the canonical discipline ; but there 
 is a more awful consideration. Until repented of, deadly sins 
 exclude the sinner from fellowship with the Saviour, and subject 
 him to the terrible sentence of doom at the Last Day. 2 The 
 separation which the Fathers contemplate is no mere exile of 
 man's devising. The kingdom from which deadly sin shuts 
 out a soul is GOD'S kingdom of grace, in which the baptised, as 
 " heirs of GOD," are led by the HOLY SPIRIT. Then, these 
 Fathers teach how the banished is restored. It is good that he 
 should look homewards like the prodigal, and acknowledge that 
 he has sinned against heaven, and before GOD. But that is only 
 the beginning. He needs more, before he can indeed be 
 delivered " out of all his fear." And there is only one way. 
 He must seek the ministry of Absolution ; he must be admitted 
 by " the Church's keys." 
 
 V. Such is their teaching ; and of course one perceives that, 
 by adopting it and bringing it into use for ourselves, we shall be 
 
 1 See Tertull. (Apol. cap. xxx.). The Christian martyrs inherited most 
 truly that splendid dauntless courage of the older Jewish Church : 
 (Daniel iii. ; 2 Mace. vii.). 
 
 - See S. Aug. (Serm. cccli. 7) : " Qui separari a regno coelorum timet 
 per ultimam sententiam summi judicis, per ecclesiasticam disciplinam a 
 sacramento ccelestis panis interim separetur."
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 127 
 
 led into the thick of a battle. An absolving priest is, according 
 to the common cry, a wretch who deserves little better than that 
 bare existence which the clemency of Roman conquerors allowed 
 to their captives in war. If he must live, let him be stripped of 
 everything that could make him dangerous. A prospect of 
 woe ! 
 
 Now, we do not receive the Fathers' doctrine as infallible in 
 every word ; and the intention has been to rest one's case, not 
 so much on tradition, as on careful comparison of teachings of 
 Holy Scripture, with the aid of common sense and kindness. 1 
 Yet the Fathers help us to understand Scripture. None ever 
 made more use of the Bible than they ; and there is a wonderful 
 consent among them in what they derive on most subjects and 
 particularly on penitence from both Old Testament and New. 2 
 
 Going, then, as they did, to the Bible for our proof, what 
 shall we say are the consequences of sin, to the soul in which it 
 is found ? How comes the word "death" to be used in speaking 
 of this ? Perhaps we have felt something, ourselves, of the 
 inward havoc that is produced by the insurrection of a created 
 will against its Creator. Or we have traced it in the world 
 around : we have noticed the subjection of noble natures to 
 headstrong passion, which seemed to hold them bound whom 
 GOD had made free. We have marked the unavailing struggles 
 of immortal spirits against the sensual appetite, and longed for 
 
 1 It should however be observed that some of that party, whose 
 maxim until lately was " The Bible only," are in these last days become 
 great upholders of tradition. One hears that " nothing may be done in 
 the Church of England against the doctrine of the last three hundred and 
 fifty years." The question then arises whether, even within those im- 
 passable limits, confession and absolution have not been known and 
 practised ? 
 
 2 To a large extent, one may say that the Christian and Catholic 
 doctrine of penitence is found in Origen's writings on Leviticus and 
 Numbers, in S. Augustine's Enarrations on the Psalms, and in the copious 
 Homilies on Genesis, Isaiah, S. Matthew, and S. John, some by the last- 
 named Father, and some by S. Chrysostom ; while in S. Ambrose's two 
 famous books on Penitence, as also in the treatises of S. Cyprian, and the 
 Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril, the text is everywhere tesselated with 
 quotations and illustrations from the Old and New Testaments. It is 
 remarkable that the fondness of some Latin Fathers for allegorical inter- 
 pretation never detracts from the justice and soberness of their conclusions 
 in morals.
 
 iz8 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 one to deliver them. Do the sacred writers bear us out in these 
 instinctive yearnings ? Do they speak of sin as an intolerable 
 burden ? a tyranny ? an extinction of life ? 
 
 The answer is that, at the beginning, man became " a living 
 soul," through infusion of the breath of GOD that is, of the 
 HOLY SPIRIT into his being, Adam is called the "son of 
 GOD," and said to have been formed in " the image and 
 likeness of GOD." It is, therefore, necessary to believe that, 
 besides the animal and the rational, he enjoyed the blessedness 
 of a spiritual life, in that part of his nature which GOD had 
 designed to be immortal. 
 
 Next, the continuance of the HOLY SPIRIT'S indwelling was 
 made to depend on Adam's obedience. That failing, " in the 
 day that thou eatest " (of the forbidden tree), " thou shalt 
 surely die." GOD'S word must stand. Adam ate, and the 
 death which passed upon him was, in the spiritual realm, 
 immediate. The " LORD and Giver of life " departed, as He 
 had said. But the disobedience, through which such great 
 destruction came to pass, 1 was sin : " sin is the transgression of 
 the law." S. Paul is describing the same fall when he writes, 
 " Through one man sin entered into the world, and death 
 through sin." 
 
 CHRIST came to redeem all mankind ; and souls are now 
 again admitted into a covenant with Almighty GOD, through 
 their " baptism into the death " of JESUS our Saviour. 
 Through the mediation of JESUS CHRIST, the HOLY GHOST 
 is given as at the first, that we may answer to the Divine will, 
 and recover the true outlines of the Divine image. Yet again, 
 as at the first, we may forfeit the sanctifying presence by 
 disobedience. The sin reckoned " deadly " is, first, a perverse 
 choice, when the creature takes part against the Creator; 2 and, 
 
 1 Compare Milton, Paradise Lost, book ix. : 
 
 " Earth felt the wound, and nature from her seat 
 Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe, 
 That all was lost." 
 
 2 For a forcible definition of sin, see Ecclus. x. 12, 13 : " It is the 
 beginning of pride when a man departeth from the LORD, and his heart 
 is departed from Him that made him. . . . The beginning of pride 
 is sin."
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 129 
 
 secondly, an intelligent choice, made with clear perception that 
 he is transgressing a precept which is of Divine sanction and 
 authority. 1 According to one school of teaching in the Church, 
 any act of this kind strikes the soul dead as in a moment : 2 
 " the soul that sinneth, it shall die : " the prodigal son was 
 " dead " when he turned his steps towards the far country : 
 " she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth." Perhaps, 
 however, the extinction of the spiritual life through sin may 
 not be quite so immediate as is sometimes represented. 3 Could 
 we, indeed, suppose such a thing without implying some 
 reproach to the efficacy of baptism ? For we are told that " all 
 who have been baptised have put on CHRIST ; " or, as the 
 apostle words it elsewhere, they " have received the Spirit of 
 adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, FATHER." Or again, in 
 S. John's Gospel, " Of His fulness have all we received, and 
 grace for grace." It is true that the abundant riches of GOD 
 bestowed on the baptised must increase their condemnation, if 
 they wilfully turn away to paths of disobedience. But, surely, 
 He who wrought so wonderful a change in our poor nature, and 
 set such glorious hopes before us, will not suffer all to be 
 undone, and as if it had never been, for the sake of one 
 moment of miserable mad rebellion?" 4 Certainly, there are 
 texts which convey a different impression. The HOLY SPIRIT 
 may be " resisted," or He may be " grieved," before His light 
 within us is finally " quenched." There is sin " unto death," 
 writes S. John : that is, sin which tends to death. And S. Paul, 
 
 1 It is important to know both what is sin, and what is not. S. 
 Chrysostom asserts very strongly that the natural infirmity of the flesh 
 does not provoke GOD to wrath, as does wilful disobedience : 
 
 i) ^TTL0v/ui:ia a/J-aprla /uj> OVK Z<TTIV. And again, el \tyei 6ri OVK oim tv avrrj 
 [TTJ crapKi] a.ya.6bv, oSiru TOUTO ^yK\T)/J.a TTJS <rapK<fc. (Hom. xii. in Rotn.) 
 
 2 So Cardinal Manning, Sermons on Sin, p. 40 : " The soul dies at 
 once, and on the spot." So also the Spiritual Exercises of Manresa. 
 
 3 Thus S. Basil (De Spir. Sancto, xvi.), though he declares that at the 
 Last Day there will be, for the ungodly, 5tx T M^, i.e., everlasting 
 separation from the HOLY SPIRIT, will not assert so much in this present 
 
 time, vvv iJ.ev yap, ei Kai /XT; dvcuceK/mrcu [r6 jryeOjua] rots dva^Lois, d\X' ovv irapewai 
 doKfi rols arra.^ cr<j>pa.yi(r/iJi4vots, TTJV K rr;s dTnffrpo<f>rjs ffcartjpiav avrCiv ava^vov. 
 
 4 S. Francis de Sales (Esprit, p. 221), objected to pronounce anyone 
 wicked for a single bad action : " Good habits are not destroyed by one 
 act of a contrary nature."
 
 130 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 " The end of those things is death." And S. James, " The sin " 
 (conceived of lust), " when it is full-grown, bringeth forth 
 death." 1 We sometimes hear that, whereas souls in a state of 
 grace are bound to GOD by the virtues of faith, hope, and 
 charity, the effect of these wilful sins is utterly to break the 
 third and strongest bond (since to disobey GOD, who is Love, 
 must be to hate Him), and so inevitably to lose the second 
 also, which is hope ; 2 leaving only faith, and leaving that to 
 condemn us, as it does the devils. But this division is too 
 sharp. In point of fact, few have such perfect understanding 
 as to sin boldly against faith and knowledge. Now, wherever 
 faith has been at all obscured, it cannot be a man's accuser to 
 the full extent, and moreover, since there is less malice in the 
 act of rebellion, even love may survive in some slight degree. 3 
 " FATHER, forgive them, for they know not what they do." 
 There must be a long hardening of the conscience, before the 
 great offence is reached.-* And the unhappy wretch, whose 
 
 " Conscience hath a thousand several tongues, 
 And every tongue brings in a several tale, 
 And every tale condemns him for a villain," 5 
 
 seldom exists but in the vivid imagination of a poet. 
 
 Therefore, although we so commonly speak of deadly or 
 mortal sins, and the Fathers compare the sorrow that should be 
 felt for one fallen to the mourning over a lifeless corpse, 6 we 
 will not push this metaphor to its utmost possible extent. 
 
 1 S. Ambrose (De Pcen. i. cap. xi.), says that a lapsed person may be 
 called " semi-vivus," like the wounded traveller in the parable. In him, 
 still, " vitale ab'quid fides spirat." 
 
 2 The dependence of hope on charity is clearly marked in Rom. v. 5. 
 
 3 " He who loves is secure," is the teaching of S. Augustine. " Nemo 
 ilium movet de Ecclesia Catholica ; et si foris illam [sc. caritatem] 
 incipiat habere, intromittitur, quomodo ramus olivae a columba." 
 (Enarrat. in Ps. xxi.) 
 
 4 Compare what is said in the admirable Treatise De Interiors Domo, 
 cap. xii. : " Velle namque peccare, malum est, peccare pejus, in peccato 
 perseverare pessimum est : nolle pcenitere, mortale." 
 
 s Shakspere (K. Rich. III., Act v. sc. 3). 
 
 6 This saying is attributed to S. Augustine, but without reference, by 
 the author of the Spiritual Exercises of Manresa. S. Augustine, however, 
 says (In Joann. Tractat. xlvii. 8), " Moritur anima amisso Deo, qui vita 
 est ejus."
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 131 
 
 There may be a condition of soul like the body of Lazarus, long 
 dead, and imprisoned in the tomb. 1 But those with whom we 
 have to do may more probably resemble that traveller on the 
 road to Jericho, who was not yet lost to existence, though 
 bleeding from wounds which might soon have become fatal. 
 For we are not under the Law, nor even the dispensation of 
 Eden ; but under CHRIST. And when " the kindness of GOD 
 our Saviour, and His love towards men, appeared," His mercy 
 saved us " by the washing of regeneration, and through renew- 
 ing of the HOLY GHOST ; which he poured upon us richly, 
 through JESUS CHRIST our Saviour." That Almighty love is 
 not quickly forfeited. " Even man's sin hardly rends the bond 
 of love that united him to GOD." 2 Only the branch that is 
 quite dry and barren He " taketh away." 3 
 
 To hold fast to this hope is unquestionably right, whatever 
 may happen. 
 
 Still, the ancients may not have been altogether wrong, 
 either in their estimate of the guilt of what they called crimina, 
 or in the remedy they employed by Absolution. What we, 
 children of GOD by our baptismal membership, do in transgres- 
 sion of a known Divine law, may not kill the soul at once ; but 
 who can doubt that it draws upon it the heavy wrath of our 
 " righteous FATHER ? " If we " live by the Spirit," it can only 
 be wicked and shameful that we do not " walk by the Spirit." 
 But, while we grant this perhaps some will say how does 
 the intervention of a priest avail to wipe off the reproach ? 
 That will be the subject of our next chapter, to be discussed 
 there as fully as may be. One remark, however, seems 
 suggested at once, by what has gone before. We have taken 
 the more moderate view of deadly sin, and, therefore, our first 
 thoughts about Absolution may be moderate also. For 
 whereas, if each mortal sin were death to the full extent, we 
 might expect to find awakened souls looking to the priest to 
 
 1 See S. Aug. (Serm. ccclii. 8). 
 
 2 From a Sermon by Canon T. T. Carter. 
 
 3 The vetcpbs el in Rev. iii. i can hardly be taken as exclusive of all 
 spiritual life and energy ; since the Sardian angel, who is " dead," is 
 presently bidden to strengthen (cmjptcreu) others.
 
 132 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 work a miracle by raising them from the dead ; now, on the 
 contrary, since we hesitate to believe this, we should be free to 
 offer our ministry for the lesser boon of healing and consolation. 
 That cannot be all that we ought to mean, unless by healing 
 we understand a very great raising indeed ; because this ab- 
 solution (as will be seen in the next chapter), is the very 
 virtue of the resurrection of the LORD JESUS, as wholly as 
 when we were baptised. But still, there can be no harm in 
 beginning, much as the Prayer Book does, with the removal of 
 hindrances to distressed consciences. 
 
 " Godly sorrow," as we are told, " worketh repentance unto 
 salvation, which bringeth no regret;" and any person who is 
 humble and earnest may have this godly sorrow in the depth 
 of his own heart, unobserved by human witnesses. Then, that 
 honest contrition, which he keeps to himself, cries to the ears of 
 GOD, and is heard and accepted of Him ; and so pardon and 
 peace are his, without oral confession or word of reconciliation 
 from CHRIST'S minister. " Open your conscience before GOD," 
 says S. Chrysostom : " pray with your memory, if not with 
 your tongue : though you are silent, He knows all." 1 In every 
 part of Catholic Christendom it is, and has ever been, admitted 
 that a perfect sorrow suffices for the pardon of any, even the 
 worst transgression, if petition be made with faith in the merits 
 of our Divine Redeemer. 2 
 
 Why, then, did the Fathers make that difference, and send 
 all grievous offenders to the priest for absolution ? Now this 
 which follows is only part of the answer, the rest being 
 reserved. But what we may say at the present moment is, 
 that although a perfect sorrow is accepted by our all-merciful 
 LORD, a perfect sorrow is not always in itself consoling. It 
 does not entirely satisfy the hunger, nor quell the alarms, of 
 
 1 In a later chapter there will be an attempt made to appreciate the 
 penitential teaching of this great Father. 
 
 2 See, for instance, the Catechism of the Council of Trent, part II. chap. 
 v. qu. 34. Also S. Thomas Aquinas (Summa, part III. suppl. qu. v. 
 art. i) : " Contrition, if perfected by charity, sufficit ad plenum culpce 
 et pance deletioncm." S. Francis de Sales instances one whose heart 
 GOD touches within the next moment after sinning, so that an act of 
 contrition brings him back to Him immediately.
 
 Primitive Penitence for Greater or Deadly Sins. 133 
 
 repenting sinners. We cannot, indeed, discern the thoughts 
 and intents of hearts, as He can who made them. But one 
 thing at least is plain. Every man who is in earnest will desire 
 to have assurance of his forgiveness, so as to be relieved from 
 trusting only to private feelings and inward experiences. Not 
 that any should presume quite to forget their past, as if it were 
 sufficient reparation that they should endeavour to live 
 respectably in time to come. That would be the modern 
 optimism, which the writer has already ventured to denounce, 
 and which whatever may be said to the contrary fails to 
 bring any settled peace at the last. But there are many 
 besides who would fain be reconciled, though they never allow 
 themselves to forget. These know that they cannot rest till 
 they have healed the breach, and made their pardon sure. To 
 them, then may we not believe? is "the word of this 
 salvation sent." We may well call it salvation. It is the word 
 spoken by one commissioned from CHRIST Himself, declaring 
 with all authority, " Thy sins are forgiven thee : go in peace." 1 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. The sin against the HOLY GHOST, which " shall not be 
 forgiven, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come," is not 
 properly reckoned among the deadly sins, because it does not consist in 
 any particular instance of disobedience to GOD'S law, but is the spirit of 
 universal rebellion cherished to the end. Though in S. Mark's Gospel it 
 is called blasphemy, this does not require that the blasphemy should be 
 outspoken, nor would the guilt of a mere impious word be the gravest of 
 all ; but the sin against the HOLY GHOST is really opposed to that final 
 perseverance in righteousness, to which the crown is promised. As 
 perseverance in charity is the bond of all virtues, so does this hold 
 together all forms of wickedness in the grasp of an abiding resistance to 
 the power of Divine grace. It refuses obstinately to " know that the 
 
 1 One must regret the discouraging tone of Jeremy Taylor, when 
 speaking of assurance of forgiveness offered to the contrite. He says, 
 " Though it be certain in religion, that whoever repents shall be pardoned, 
 yet it is a long time before any man hath repented worthily ; and it is as 
 uncertain in what manner, and in what measure, and in what time, GOD 
 will give us pardon. . . . GOD keeps the secrets of this mercy in His 
 sanctuary, and draws not the curtain till the day of death or judgment." 
 (Vol. ix. p. 225.) For what is more worthy of this illustrious, but some- 
 what erratic, divine, see extracts in the appendix to the next chapter.
 
 134 The U se f Penitence. 
 
 goodness of GOD leadeth thee to repentance." While the day of grace 
 lasts, this sin is not irremissible : yet remission is hardly obtained, 
 because its actual malice consists in rejection of forgiveness. " Im- 
 penitence is itself that blasphemy of the Spirit, which will not be 
 forgiven." So concludes S. Augustine, after very careful discussion of 
 the statements in S. Matthew and S. Mark. 1 
 
 Thus it is useless to speak of the sin against the HOLY GHOST in 
 relation to penitence. " Non solum cum agitur pcenitentia, verum etiam 
 ut agatur, Dei misericordia necessaria est . . . Qui vero in Ecclesia 
 remitti peccata non credens, contemnit tantam divini muneris largitatem, 
 et in hac obstinatione mentis diem claudit extremum, reus est illo 
 irremissibili peccato in Spiritum sanctum, in quo Christus peccata 
 dimittit." 2 
 
 The vigilance of a Christian should be directed against all temptations 
 to spiritual pride, that being the precursor of this awful hardness and 
 blindness. But as to that, our LORD taught us once for all, in His 
 temptation on the pinnacle. 
 
 1 S. Aug. (Serm. Ixxi.). Cardinal Manning, indeed (Sin, and its 
 Consequences, p. 35), takes this sin of blasphemy to be one among the 
 other " sins unto death ; " but it seems best to follow S. Augustine. 
 
 2 S. Aug. (Enchir. cap. Ixxxiii.). Compare Maldonatus on S. Matt. xii.
 
 Binding and Loosing. 135 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Binding and Loosing. 
 
 THE point we have now reached is this. From early times the 
 custom has prevailed of reserving all graver sins for the ministry 
 of Absolution ; which, the Fathers tell us, could be exercised 
 only by bishops or priests. 1 A common belief was that, as 
 one Sacrament was necessary for the first quickening of souls in 
 CHRIST, another was required for the restoration of those who 
 had subsequently lost their baptismal life : who, having com- 
 mitted serious sins, heartily longed to repent of and forsake 
 them. Both have in fact been called " Sacraments for the 
 dead." 2 However, after comparison of texts, it did not seem 
 right to insist that spiritual death is the certain, immediate, and 
 inevitable consequence of each greater act of disobedience. As 
 S. Thomas says, there are degrees of guilt, greater or less ; 3 and 
 who can be sure when the worst has been reached ? 4 Still, the 
 wickedness of deadly sins was enough to give rise to apprehen- 
 sions that grace might be forfeited ; and without grace no man 
 can stand. It was therefore right and proper that those repent- 
 ing should desire the fullest assurance of forgiveness that could 
 
 1 E.g., SS. Cyprian, Pacian, Basil, Ambrose ; the Apostolical Consti- 
 tutions. (Cosin, of course, says the same ; but goes for authority, rather 
 strangely, to the Jesuit Maldonatus, not much before his own time. See 
 Cosin's Works, vol. v. p. 47.) 
 
 2 See a note to Newman's Lectures on Justification, p. 154: "Catholics 
 hold that there are two Sacraments which reconcile the sinner to GOD, or 
 sacramenta mortuorum ; viz. Baptism and Penance." 
 
 3 Summa Theol. Part iii., qu. Ixxxiv. art. 10. 
 
 4 Whether absolution must be reserved till the worst lias been reached 
 in other words, whether it is only fit for the dead, and not for the dying 
 is a question which I have not argued ; because I do not think that such 
 a thing has ever been taught by good men, of any school whatever.
 
 136 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 be granted : if such assurance came through Absolution, they 
 would surely demand that the priest should do his part. 
 
 Then, one can see what will be the next thing to be proved. 
 We must show what the nature of Absolution is, and whether 
 it deserves that pains should be taken to procure it. If that 
 can be established, we may then proceed to discuss the right 
 conditions for its reception ; but no one will care to take pains 
 about a thing that is neither valued nor loved. 
 
 Absolution. We are not familiar with the opposite term, which 
 would be ligation, or colligation, if such words were in existence. 1 
 Yet binding and loosing are always the two alternatives. What 
 is not loosed, remains bound : what is not bound, cannot require 
 to be loosed. Of what nature, then, is the bondage ? 
 
 One may answer, first, that in ancient times bonds and 
 imprisonment went together. To be bound was almost an 
 inseparable accident of captivity. They " sat in darkness and 
 in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron." Of 
 Joseph it is said, " His feet they hurt with fetters, he was laid in 
 chains of iron." When " all the doors " of S. Paul's prison- 
 house at Philippi " were opened," it is also mentioned that 
 " every one's bands were loosed." 
 
 Next, we hear of captivity in a dungeon which is Satan's. 2 
 The devil is a prince, to whom sinners have given dominion 
 over their souls and bodies. He rules them by craft, cruelty, 
 and oppression. He entangles them in his snare : he holds 
 them securely, confined as in a castle or palace, over which he 
 presides, as a " strong man armed." 3 Through Adam's yielding 
 to Satan, " sin had entered into the world, and death by sin." 
 One therefore was needed, who should "bring to nought him 
 that had the power of death, that is, the devil ; and deliver all 
 
 1 Colligatio is found sometimes. 
 
 2 In the Jacobite rite for the Consecration of a Patriarch : " Give 
 him the power of Thy HOLY SPIRIT, that he may loose all the bonds of 
 those whom the enemy has bound in sin." (From Denzinger, quoted by 
 Canon W. R. Churton, Defence of English Ordinal, p. 59.) 
 
 3 Or, sometimes, sin itself is described as the master of slaves : see 
 Rom. vi. 6 ; vii. 14. It may be observed that most of the false heathen 
 religions (e.g., Brahmanism) have tried to consecrate cruelty and slavery. 
 These, said John Smith, the Cambridge Platonist, are " the badge and 
 livery of the devil's religion."
 
 Binding and Loosing. 137 
 
 them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject 
 to bondage." 
 
 I. That deliverer, looser, absolver, is JESUS CHRIST. 1 The 
 Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because . . . He hath sent Me to 
 proclaim release to the captives." "To this end was the SON of 
 GOD manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." 
 " If I by the finger of GOD cast out devils, then is the kingdom of 
 GOD come upon you. When the strong man fully armed guardeth 
 his own court, his goods are in peace; but when a stronger than 
 he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him 
 his whole armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils." 2 
 
 From these passages, to which many more might be added, 
 it is evident that grievous sins are regarded in the New Testa- 
 ment as a bondage under the cruel tyranny of Satan ; and that 
 the one deliverer of captive souls is " the Stronger than he;" 
 that is, the GoD-Man, the Saviour of mankind. There is none 
 other but He. Whatever charm has attached to legends of 
 heroes triumphant over the most terrible impersonations of 
 hideous wrong, from Alcides to the blameless Arthur, from the 
 sharp spear of S. George to the invincible gentle purity of 
 Margaret of Antioch whatever the beauty and glory of any of 
 these, all must go back to Him as their only source. Back to 
 that strong right arm which " put on strength " for our redemp- 
 tion, to the eye which looked on earth's darkness and illumined 
 it, the feet which sought for and brought in those that had lost 
 their way ; the heart which " knew His people's sorrows," when 
 He " came down to deliver them." 
 
 And surely, this is what every Christian knows. If we now 
 hope for a second Advent of our LORD, when He will finally 
 put down and destroy what remains of the tyranny of evil, it is 
 because we believe that already, by His incarnation, He has 
 bestowed upon us a citizenship in that heavenly Jerusalem which 
 " is above and is free," already, by our membership in His 
 
 1 So S. Aug. (Serm. xxvi. 9) : " Ipse solvit, qui ligatus non est ; ipse 
 a mortuis liberat, qui est in mortuis liber." 
 
 ~ In speaking of CHRIST'S binding of the strong man, S. Irenaeus 
 (iii. 8) draws a fine contrast between our glorious LORD and " that 
 apostate slave, the devil."
 
 138 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 Church, He has taken us where " violence is no more heard," 
 already He has advanced us to " the liberty of the glory of the 
 children of GOD." Yet, to revive the familiar doctrine at this 
 moment may not be altogether superfluous. For we are on our 
 way to speak now of human ministries of loosing, in the Church 
 to which we belong. Let us therefore first declare even 
 though nothing else might have seemed conceivable or possible 
 our unaltered faith, that the only true Absolver and 
 deliverer of sinful souls is, and for ever will remain through all 
 the ages, JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 II. Now, since our LORD is He who holds all in His own 
 firm grasp, it must follow that whatever He looses not, if He 
 finds it bound, continues in its bondage. Does He find all souls 
 in that condition ? In a sense, all men have been bound, for all 
 have sinned. Yet that would be absolutely true only of the un- 
 regenerate. For after baptism it is possible that that might come 
 to pass of which S. John writes: "He that was begotten of GOD 
 keepeth himself, and the evil one toucheth him not." Our LORD'S 
 loosing would not be required for those who still "continued in His 
 love," though committing daily faults of infirmity. Once more, 
 then ; our whole concern is, now, with the more grievous sins. 
 
 We have our LORD'S own word for it, that " every one that 
 committeth sin is the bond-servant of sin." 1 When a man's 
 will is so weak that he yields to a particular temptation when- 
 ever it presents itself, one can see directly that he only deserves 
 to be called a slave. Whatever passion may have gained the 
 mastery, it is evident that he cannot face the future unless 
 CHRIST, the SON of GOD, shall " make him free indeed." But 
 it has been thought too, and very generally, that he is bound by 
 the memory, and the guilt, of sins already committed. These 
 may not be very recent ; he may even have turned away from 
 them in heartfelt disgust : yet the recollection deprives him of 
 all freedom of action in the ways of GOD. 2 He may desire 
 earnestly to amend his life, yet sorrow and despair overwhelm 
 
 1 Whosoever he be, and, as S. Chrysostom says, K&V /uv/tfoi/s ^ri TT/S 
 xe<f>a.\fjs ZXTI <rTe<f>dvovs. 
 
 - Compare Prov. xxi. 8 : " The way of him that is laden with guilt is 
 exceeding crooked : but as for the pure, his work is straight " (marg.).
 
 Binding and Loosing. 139 
 
 him, and he feels that his own resources are utterly inadequate, 
 and what is done cannot be undone. 1 Surely, this is confirmed 
 by experience. How many of us must have felt that, before we 
 could attempt to serve GOD worthily, the first requisite was to 
 break with the past ! Who will strike off these chains that 
 hold us down ? 
 
 The answer is, of course, Look to CHRIST. When CHRIST 
 comes near, the evil spirit cries out and would tear its victim, 
 but it knows full well that it must relax its hold, so soon as He 
 commands. " Who shall deliver me out of the body of this 
 death ? I thank GOD through JESUS CHRIST our LORD." It 
 would take too long, if one tried to show how fully and com- 
 pletely CHRIST'S absolving work was set forth in allegory, by 
 the miracles that He wrought. Nor must we rest our doctrine 
 of Absolution upon those special occasions when He laid His 
 hand in healing upon poor afflicted bodies which " Satan had 
 bound." Even the raising of Lazarus, to which the Fathers 
 delighted to discover spiritual affinities, can hardly be used for 
 purposes of argument in these literal days. There is, however, 
 one miracle which is exceptional. The healing of the paralytic 
 is strictly to our point, because, there, the sufferer's soul receives 
 benefit as well as his body. " Whether is easier, to say to the 
 sick of the palsy, Thy sins are forgiven, or to say, Arise, and 
 take up thy bed and walk?" In this case, I think, no serious 
 objection can be made to the inference that, but by bringing 
 these two healings together, our LORD intended that one should 
 illustrate the other ; so that when He looses any by Absolution, 
 He may be understood to rid the soul of a helplessness com- 
 parable to palsy. Thus He enables us to " rise and walk" with 
 the strongest, healing us to a perfect soundness, restoring us to 
 our appointed place in the ranks of His warriors. 2 
 
 1 So S. Augustine (Serm. xcviii. 6) : " Revixerunt, quibus displicet quod 
 fuerunt ; sed ambulate non possunt. Haec sunt vincula ipsius reatus." 
 Compare Shakspere (Cymbelinc, Act v., sc. 4) : 
 
 " LEONATUS : My conscience ! thou art fetter'd 
 
 More than my shanks or wrists : you good gods, give me 
 The penitent instrument, to pick that bolt, 
 Then, free for ever ! " 
 
 2 Compare the similar miracle wrought by S. Peter in Acts iii. ; and
 
 140 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 Again, CHRIST both looses and binds. While some stand 
 before Him in the liberty that He confers, others prefer their 
 chains to all His " kindness." He binds, then, those who refuse 
 His loosing, who will not turn to Him by repentance and faith. 
 On the hypocrites, especially, who act a lie, and speak peace to 
 their consciences when there is no peace, He has an adverse 
 judgment to pronounce " Your sin remaineth." Their state 
 of bondage is of their own choosing, and He will not save them 
 against their will. 1 
 
 So much concerning our Divine Master's own judicial dis- 
 cretion : His entire restoration of the penitent, His rejection of 
 the deceitful. 
 
 III. Let us proceed next to the passages, so exceedingly 
 well-known, in S. Matthew's Gospel, which to some of us are 
 conclusive for ministerial Absolution. One might indeed have 
 presumed that the power would be continued by delegation, if 
 we had only the paralytic's healing to go upon. For the 
 multitude took that miracle for an indication of GOD'S will to 
 bestow upon men the authority to forgive sins : and our LORD 
 Himself had suggested the lesson, when He declared that He 
 was making proof of a right which belonged to Him as " Son 
 of Man," dwelling among men " on earth." The natural 
 expectation would be, that a human ministry of reconciliation 
 would be continued after He left the earth. 2 The whole glory 
 and efficiency of such a ministry would be His : but the 
 evidence to the senses, by words spoken and hands out- 
 stretched, would be supplied by the men whom He should send, 
 after His ascension into heaven. However, there is not much 
 occasion to work this out, when we are able to turn to such a 
 luminous pronouncement as that made to S. Peter, in the 
 sixteenth chapter of S. Matthew. " I say unto thee that thou 
 art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the 
 
 that apostle's words (Acts iii. 12-17) so applicable to the minister's part 
 in Absolution. For the spiritual " walk," see Gal. v. 16-26. 
 
 1 Compare Rom. i. 28, " GOD gave them up to a reprobate mind : " 
 and Ex. x. 20, " The LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart." 
 
 2 So S. Ambrose (In S. Luc. v. 23) : " Quis enim potest peccata 
 dimittere nisi solus Deus, qui per eos quoque dimittit, quibus dimittendi 
 tribuit potestatem ? "
 
 Binding and Loosing. 141 
 
 gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give unto 
 thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou 
 shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever 
 thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 
 
 Be it remembered, that this follows upon S. Peter's great 
 confession of CHRIST as " the SON of the living GOD." 
 Because of the strength of his faith in the Incarnation, this 
 great apostle receives a commission from his Master both to 
 found the one Church of the redeemed, and to keep the 
 approaches to its gates. Nothing can be plainer than this. 
 CHRIST is the one Head over all : the Church is His, the gates 
 are His, the whole power to admit souls or to repel them is 
 His alone. 1 He is LORD of life and death, the beginning and 
 the end, the first and the last. S. Peter is chosen a builder 
 and keeper under Him, to bind or to loose in His Name, for 
 the one reason that his faith has preceded all the rest in 
 recognising the Divine Majesty of this meek and lowly JESUS. 
 Later (see S. Matt, xviii.), the other apostles will share these 
 prerogatives or at least the binding and loosing with S. 
 Peter ; after them, and from them, the clergy, in a long 
 succession. But the source of all is the act of faith at 
 Caesarea Philippi : " Thou art the CHRIST, the SON of the living 
 GOD." 
 
 With regard to the keys, there is a sense in which they may 
 have been intrusted as an instrument of office, singular and 
 peculiar, to this chief apostle. To CHRIST Himself they belong 
 as sovereign LORD and Master; or (as we read in the Hebrews), 
 " as a son over His own House : " He is seen with the keys in 
 several well-known passages in the Apocalypse. If He promises 
 them to S. Peter, one would think that this must mark some 
 special pre-eminence granted to S. Peter alone. For the 
 metaphor is almost certainly derived from Isaiah xxii., where 
 the functionary is a steward, 2 having great dignity, and full 
 
 1 If any human being partakes of this authority, he does so only by a 
 right of delegation from CHRIST. Otherwise, man's part is to knock : 
 GOD opens. (S. Matt. vii. 7.) 
 
 2 Rather that than a prince ; although Maldonatus says, " Per claves 
 in Scriptura principatus significatur."
 
 142 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 control over the gate of entrance to the king's palace. 1 We 
 should spoil the metaphor if we supposed more than one 
 steward ; and, besides, the bestowal of the keys in S. Matt. xvi. 
 is actually and precisely to Simon Peter ; so that when, in the 
 eighteenth chapter, the power of Absolution is extended to the 
 rest of the twelve, this particular stewardship is not included in 
 the extension. There may still be uncertainty as to what exactly 
 the prerogative was, and no sufficient proof that any of it was 
 handed down to S. Peter's successors in the primacy. 2 But 
 Protestants and Ultramontanes alike take the keys to have 
 
 1 See Delitzsch on Isaiah xxii. 22 : " The power of the keys consisted 
 not only in supervision of the royal chambers, but in deciding who was, 
 and who was not, to be received into the king's service." 
 
 2 In order to justify the Ultramontane position, we must believe (i) 
 that CHRIST made S. Peter both the rock from which He would begin to 
 build, and that upon which the Church should rest to the end of time 
 (as S. Leo says, In Petri sede Ecclesia Petnim suscipit) : (2) that CHRIST 
 promised to give to S. Peter a master-key of dominion over the House of 
 GOD, to be transmitted by inheritance to all his successors in the See of 
 Rome. The whole fallacy is in this second assertion. The first is 
 probably true. For a house cannot change its foundation ; and it is 
 matter of history that the Church of Rome has ever paid honour to 
 a Divine CHRIST as did S. Peter. (See what Liddon says of the fides 
 Rotnana, in his Commentary on Rom. i. 8.) We may, therefore, naturally 
 suppose that the Church still stands on the same rock as at first. This is 
 the more remarkable, when one remembers the worthlessness or worldly 
 ambition of so many Popes, in spite of which the deposit was safely kept. 
 S. Cyprian, however (De Unit. Ecclcs. 3), speaks rather as if S. Peter had 
 only to begin building : " Ut unitatem manifestaret [Dominus] , unitatis 
 ejusdem originem ab uno incipientem sua auctoritate disposuit." So 
 also S. Pacian (Ep. iii. 26), " He spoke to one, that from one he might lay 
 the foundation of unity." 
 
 But for the second assertion there is very little to be said. S. Peter 
 had the primacy ; but neither he, nor his successors, were to be despots 
 over the Church. His confession of CHRIST, glorious though it was, 
 could be no cause for exalting him so high above his brethren who 
 followed him in the same faith ; and nothing of the kind was conceded by 
 the rest of the twelve, or by S. Paul. Least of all did he claim 
 supremacy for himself (i S. Pet. i. i ; v. i) ; he knew that CHRIST had 
 made him a steward, " not master and lord." Papal despotism may have 
 been a powerful support to the weak places of the feudal system ; but no 
 such supremacy was imagined by the most eminent of the early Fathers. 
 It is true that S. Chrysostom (Horn, in Matt, liv.), goes so far as to say 
 that our LORD " committed to a mortal man authority over all things in 
 heaven, when He gave him the keys." But S. Chrysostom's attitude 
 towards the Pope of his own day, S. Innocent I., was full of reverent love 
 indeed, yet not of subjection.
 
 Binding and Loosing. 143 
 
 been, in some respects, S Peter's only, while he lived and 
 presided in CHRIST'S Name. 1 Some judicial power there must 
 have been, peculiar to himself; and not merely his as the 
 representative apostle, according to that familiar thought, "In 
 uno Petro figurabatur unitas omnium pastorum." (S. Aug. 
 Serm. cxlvii.) 
 
 Yet this distinction is of no great consequence when we 
 are defining the Church's laws of penitence. For, whatever 
 we may think about an exclusive privilege granted to S. Peter, 
 we always, in the usual way of speaking, couple the power of 
 the keys with that of binding and loosing, and consider both 
 to belong to all bishops and priests alike. 2 What the Fathers 
 speak of are not claves Petri, but daves Ecclesice? This can be 
 explained quite easily. Indeed, when one thinks of the 
 practical question, it is hardly possible to separate the first 
 power from the second. For surely it could not be meant that, 
 when one of CHRIST'S ministers, though the humblest, had 
 loosed a sinner from the bondage of his sin, he should find the 
 fold barred against the sheep that he was bringing home. One 
 and the same official, under CHRIST, must both deliver from 
 the prison-house, and admit to the Kingdom of Heaven. So, 
 more and more, these two metaphors have been understood as 
 equivalent. To loose and to open are merely two ways of 
 expressing what every priest is empowered to do, when he 
 receives penitent souls to forgiveness in his Master's Name. 
 
 It would, therefore, be useless to carry farther a discussion 
 on the special pre-eminence which may have belonged, by right, 
 to " that faithful and wise steward, whom his LORD set over 
 His household." Whatever that was, it did not take away 
 from what S. Cyprian calls the par potestas of the other 
 apostles. Nor did it at all preclude the regular opening 
 of heaven's gate by the succession of Christian ministers since 
 
 1 For an instance of the former, see Dr. Chase's article, " Simon 
 Peter," in Hastings' Dictionary. 
 
 2 S. Hilary (De Trin. vi. 33), appeals to all the apostles, " O sancti et 
 beati viri, et ob fidei vestras meritum claves regni coelorum sortiti ! " 
 
 3 So S. Aug. (Serm. cccli. 9): " Confugere ad ipsas claves Ecclesias, 
 quibus solvatur in terra, ut sit solutus in ccelo."
 
 144 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 their time. And, however we regard it, that is, and must be, 
 the chief importance of the power of the keys. The unlocking, 
 which is regular, takes precedence of what is extraordinary : 
 the King's officer bestowing favours on great occasions 1 is not 
 so essential as the daily minister of the eternal Priesthood 
 of JESUS CHRIST. 2 
 
 I cannot see that much stress ought to be laid on the keys 
 being plural. Poets are agreed that that which opens heaven 
 must be of gold ; but whereas Milton makes the other an iron 
 key, which " shuts amain," 3 Dante says that it is of silver, and 
 that it represents the discernment requisite in a priest (or, in 
 purgatory, an angel), who has to receive penitents. 4 As if with 
 this he first of all opened the heart and conscience of the 
 sinner. S. Thomas inclines to the same view, 5 which has been 
 commonly adopted among Roman Catholics ; but it is obviously 
 fanciful, and best suited to the imagination of a sacred poet. 
 If there are two keys, one would think that they should be 
 used for different doors ; but then the first should be the gate 
 of sin's prison-house, which must always be opened before the 
 other, so as to release the captive soul. 6 
 
 However, discernment is most certainly needed for the 
 ministry of Absolution ; and so our LORD teaches, in the other 
 famous passage on the subject, to which we now proceed. 
 
 IV. There is a large consensus 7 in favour of assuming an 
 
 1 I refer, of course, to the custom of reserving cases for the Pope's 
 superior authority to determine, which is, surely, right in principle, if the 
 power be used with moderation. 
 
 - See S. Aug. (Serm. cxlix. 7) : " In Ecclesia claves, ubi peccata 
 quotidie dimittuntur." 
 
 3 See Milton's Lycidas. 
 
 4 Dante (Purgatorio, ix. 118)," L'una era d'oro, el'altra era d'argento 
 
 Quandunque 1'una d'este chiavi falla, 
 Che non si volga dritta per la toppa, 
 Diss 1 egli a noi, non s'apre questa calla." 
 s S. Thomas (Suppl. qu. xvii. art. 3). 
 
 6 Freaks of fancy are very many on this topic. Jewel (vol. iv. p. 516) 
 makes the keys " instruction and correction by the Scriptures." He 
 refers to 2 Tim. iii. 16, and quotes various Fathers on his side ; but, 
 really, confuses the absolving keys with the " key of knowledge," spoken 
 of by our LORD in S. Luke xi. 52. 
 
 7 Though it may be that some distinguish between the two, as does a 
 writer quoted in Poole's Synopsis ; according to whom, S. Matthew's
 
 Binding and Loosing. 145 
 
 identity of intention between S. John xx. 23 and S. Matt, 
 xvi. 19. To "remit" or "retain" in S. John corresponds 
 exactly with the " loosing " or " binding " in S. Matthew. But 
 whereas our LORD had spoken of the power prospectively at 
 Caesarea Philippi, He declared it with more explicit sanction 
 after He rose again, because the time had now come for its 
 exercise; and this is what S. John has particularly to record. 
 Now, for the first time, JESUS said what had only been implied 
 before that sins were what His ministers had to loose, 
 remit, and take away. Now, also, by using the expression, 
 " Whose soever (av TIVIV) sins ye remit," He plainly required His 
 ministers to use their judgment upon the cases brought before 
 them. They were not to " lay hands suddenly " in absolving, 
 any more than in ordaining. They must discern between the 
 honest and good heart, and the false and evil. Finally in 
 this, however, confirming what He had said before He assures 
 them that their sentence, whether of loosing or binding, will be 
 ratified in heaven ; by Himself, that is, the true and everlasting 
 Priest. 
 
 [The force of the moods and tenses is only in part rendered 
 by our translation, " ye remit," " they are remitted." Does not 
 av TIVWV a^Tf. imply that absolution should be not exceptional 
 indeed, yet rather occasional ? " In case you should remit the 
 sins of any." (If so, this would agree well with the principle 
 of a less solemn penitence for mere daily faults.) But again, 
 does not the perfect, a^ewvrat, " they have been remitted," 
 convey the idea of a ratification so immediate as to suggest 
 Isaiah's " While they are yet speaking, I will hear ? " These 
 points are not too small to be noted. The ministerial 
 intervention may be infrequent; but, directly the time comes 
 for it, its power is recognised in the height of heaven. 1 ] 
 
 concern is " circa articulos et decisiones legis," while S. John's, only, is 
 " circa personas et peccata hominum." It does seem not unlikely that 
 the authority to govern, and to use ecclesiastical discipline, was included in 
 that first promise, made to S. Peter as chief pastor and founder of the 
 Church. Indeed, the power of the keys could hardly mean less than that. 
 1 So Bishop Andrewes, " There is no delay between, no holding in 
 suspense : ... He saith not, Hereafter they may be, but they are already 
 remitted."
 
 146 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 Now comes what is most important. Why was the com- 
 mission to the apostles made thus present and definite at that 
 particular moment ? Why was the forgiveness of sins 
 mentioned then, and not before? 
 
 The answer is, because CHRIST had died, and risen again ; 
 and now, therefore, the dispensation of grace was beginning. 
 
 Let us observe that the authority to remit or retain sins 
 was given at our LORD'S first appearing, after His resurrection, 
 to the disciples assembled together. " When it was evening, 
 on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were 
 shut where the disciples were . . . JESUS came and stood in 
 the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And 
 when He had said this, He showed unto them His hands and 
 His side." Let us attempt a short comment, ere we proceed 
 farther. This takes place on the evening of Easter Day, as 
 near as could be to our LORD'S Cross and Passion, as well as to 
 the opening of the Holy Sepulchre, still more recent. It is a 
 transaction within the Church, by which only the baptized will 
 be profited, 1 and so the doors are shut, excluding all but the 
 faithful. CHRIST'S first word is of peace, because those present 
 must first be assured that their own sins are forgiven ; 2 and He 
 makes assurance doubly sure by showing the scars of those 
 wounds which had been "the chastisement of their peace." In 
 this, too, there was convincing proof of the truth of His 
 resurrection ; intended, doubtless, for the comfort of others 
 also, who were present, as S. Luke relates, together with the 
 apostles. So concludes the first part of His message on that 
 evening. What follows is told by S. John alone, and has 
 reference to none except the twelve. " JESUS, therefore, said 
 to them [the disciples] again, Peace be unto you : as the 
 FATHER hath sent Me, even so send I you. And when He 
 
 1 That the apostles had been previously baptized, is thought to be 
 proved by our LORD'S words to S. Peter before the Last Supper, " He 
 that has been washed [or bathed] needeth not save to wash his feet, but 
 is clean every whit." 
 
 - There can be little difficulty in accepting the fact that our LORD 
 both baptized and absolved His apostles before the institution of regular 
 means of grace. So S. Thomas Aqu. (Suppl. qu. Ixiv. art. 3) : " Ad 
 excellentiam Christi pertinet, quod ipse potuit effectum sacramentorum 
 sine exteriori sacramento conferre."
 
 Binding and Loosing, 147 
 
 had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, 
 Receive ye the HOLY GHOST : whose soever sins ye remit, they 
 are remitted unto them, and whose soever sins ye retain, they 
 are retained." As if His meaning had been, " Already you 
 have received your own forgiveness, you have seen and 
 believed : now again I give you My peace that you may be 
 ministers thereof to others. Yours is a true ministry, even as 
 Mine which the FATHER sent Me to exercise as Son of Man. 
 Yet apart from Me you can do nothing. Therefore I, your 
 LORD and Master, who am the Resurrection and the Life, 
 breathe into your souls that life-giving Spirit who is of Me. 
 Take the HOLY GHOST, and go forth in My Name to restore 
 mankind, and to heal the wounds of sin." 
 
 V. But was it strictly correct to make a distinction just 
 now, to the effect that only the baptized would profit by this 
 authority given to the apostles ? Some of the Fathers appear 
 to refer our LORD'S words to those preparing for baptism 
 also; 1 and when we read them in S. John's Gospel, there seems 
 at first sight no reason why that should not have been part of 
 their intention. " Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted 
 unto them." We should remember, however, that, although 
 plenary forgiveness is conferred in baptism, for all sins both 
 original and actual, that is not properly a ministerial remission. 
 In the Donatist controversy it was ruled that baptisms are valid 
 though administered by one in heresy or schism, inasmuch as 
 the grace of regeneration proceeds directly from GOD. In the 
 Scala Paradisi? it is said that whereas " the LORD granted the 
 office of baptizing to many, He reserved to Himself alone the 
 power and authority to remit sins in baptism." And the author 
 of that treatise quotes the Baptist's testimony to CHRIST, 
 " The same is He that baptizeth with the HOLY SPIRIT." 
 
 We must remember, again, that while there is no 
 
 1 See, for instance, S. Cyprian (Ep. Ixxiii. 7). Also S. Cyril Alex. 
 (In Joann. lib. xii. cap. i. :) who takes the breathing of CHRIST to 
 represent regeneration, and compares Gen. ii. 7. Also S. Cyril of 
 Jerusalem (Introduct. Lecture). Most of this last might have been sup- 
 posed intended for persons preparing for absolution, but is really for 
 catechumens. 
 
 2 Published with vol. vi. of S. Augustine.
 
 148 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 forgiveness without repentance, the repentance demanded of 
 catechumens is of a much slighter sort than when men " have 
 been once enlightened, and tasted of the heavenly gift." 
 Therefore, although it does appear probable that, in the third 
 century, catechumens would be taken through the penitential 
 grades side by side with the lapsed, this can hardly have been 
 consistent with the earliest apostolic ruling. 1 There might, of 
 course, have been special reasons for prolonging the preparation, 
 besides the question of a candidate's previous habits. In such 
 an age of persecution as that, one would have to think of the 
 future quite as much as the past ; and to consider whether he 
 had firmness enough to endure such severe trials of faith as 
 were certain to occur. So still, in the mission-field, we are 
 averse to baptize converts till they have been fully tested, and 
 found ready and willing to count the cost. But that is a 
 different kind of discernment. A missionary should keep his 
 eye on the horizon from which danger threatens his convert. 
 But he cannot expect that much of deep contrition should be 
 felt on account of sins committed before knowledge of GOD'S 
 will, or the grace of His HOLY SPIRIT. And so a Christian 
 minister's concern with such repentance would be trifling, when 
 compared with what our LORD seems to require in S. 
 John xx. 23. 
 
 Certainly, also, our LORD, on this Easter night, made no 
 mention of baptism, which He reserved till nearer His 
 Ascension. On the whole, therefore, we can hardly doubt that 
 He was contemplating the case of souls already initiated. He 
 foresaw that many of these would fall from their first 
 sanctifying grace ; and that a special power of the HOLY 
 GHOST would be needed for their restoration. Thus He 
 breathed the Spirit of life upon His disciples ; first, as we may 
 suppose, to enlighten their minds, and to make their ministry 
 effectual before the great GOD who delighteth in mercy, yet is 
 also supremely just. And then, that, through their agency, 
 the Blessed Comforter might give His aid also to repenting 
 sinners ; touching their hearts with sorrow, refreshing them, 
 when contrite, with His peace. 
 
 1 See Acts ii. 41 ; xvi. 33.
 
 Binding and Loosing, 149 
 
 VI. But why was Absolution instituted before Baptism, if 
 baptism is the beginning of the soul's life in CHRIST, while 
 absolution is for those who fall afterwards into sin ? I am not 
 aware that that question has ever been answered in a way to 
 remove all doubt as to what the reasons were. However, it is 
 permissible to suppose that our LORD, when He gave us 
 sacraments, would lift up our minds to those mysteries con- 
 cerning Himself, which they set forth or enshrined. 1 If so, one 
 can understand how their future administration might not 
 observe the same order which He chose at the first institution. 
 For instance, if in the Eucharist we, His redeemed, were to 
 partake of " His Body, given for us," we are not surprised to 
 find the time chosen to have been when the oblation of the 
 body of the Paschal lamb was fulfilled in the sacrifice of 
 CHRIST Himself, upon the Cross, for our redemption. 2 Again, 
 the sacrament of Baptism was the chief instrument in founding 
 the Church, and the Church was to be founded so soon as, by 
 the Ascension of JESUS CHRIST, His intercession became 
 availing to produce the Mission of the HOLY SPIRIT the Com- 
 forter. We should expect therefore to hear of the institution of 
 baptism not long before these great mysteries were enacted. 
 And, surely, in the same way, when the question was of a 
 means of Grace by which hope should be restored to repenting 
 sinners, there was a fitness in choosing the day on which He, 
 who had so lately suffered for our salvation, was " opening the 
 Kingdom of Heaven to all believers " by His Resurrection. 
 Absolution hangs upon the resurrection of the LORD JESUS. 
 
 1 On this subject see S. Leo (Ep. xvi. 3). As regards the time chosen 
 for the institution of baptism, he says, " De quo eos [sc. apostolos] etiam 
 ante passionem potuisset instruere, nisi proprie voluisset intelligi regenera- 
 tionis gratiam ex sua resurrectione ccepisse." The principle here is the 
 same as what I have proposed, though the application may differ 
 slightly. 
 
 - See a quotation, made as from S. Csesarius, by Wilberforce, 
 (Doctr. of Holy Eucharist, chap, xi.) : " It was necessary that He who was 
 about to withdraw the Body, which He had assumed, from our sight, and 
 to transfer it to heaven, should this day consecrate for us the Sacrament 
 of His Body and Blood : that the same object which was once offered as 
 the price of our ransom, might be continually worshipped in a mystery 
 . . . that that Victim might live continually in memory, and be always 
 present by grace."
 
 150 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 It is not perhaps in itself, so truly as baptism, a raising up 
 "from the death of sin to a life of righteousness." 1 At least 
 we may think not, if we hesitate to affirm that impenitence 
 actually involves (except in extreme cases) the destruction of 
 a soul. For where death is not, resurrection can be neither 
 necessary nor possible. The extreme cases cannot indeed be 
 ignored. There are sins which, " when full-grown, bring forth 
 death;" and, even then, the word spoken in CHRIST'S Name 
 is efficacious. If we were to deny the Church's power to deal 
 with these, we should fall back into the error of Tertullian, or 
 the Novatianists. But, at least with most persons who need 
 serious repentance, it is not that their life, of the Spirit, has 
 become wholly extinct : only, their sins are mortal wounds, 
 tending to a speedy death if they be not healed. Then, do 
 souls in this condition require to be " raised again ? " Surely 
 they do. The difference is only of degree. We must still have 
 access for them to " the powers of the world to come," if they 
 are to revive ; and in the ministry of absolution, in the Catholic 
 Church, we find regular agencies provided for this purpose. 
 The loosing of the penitent in absolution, from a bondage nigh 
 unto death, is a real extension of the virtue of our LORD'S 
 resurrection. 
 
 Some dispute this, because they think that our LORD'S 
 Easter promise had a wider scope, and that the remission to be 
 spoken in His Name could not have been conditioned by the 
 use of a mere " minor sacrament." 2 Now, no one supposes that 
 a sacrament is more than a narrow channel for the immense 
 love of GOD : yet for us, being what we are, it is perhaps a 
 necessary channel. The fault of some most spiritually-minded 
 writers is, that they provide no meeting-point between that infinite 
 mercy and the sinner who needs it. No one, for instance, who 
 
 1 Bishop Chr. Wordsworth, however, in his note on S. John xx. 23, 
 comes very near to the doctrine of a sacramentum mortuonim. " Our 
 resurrection from the death of sin is called . . . the first resurrection, 
 necessary as a safeguard against the second death." 
 
 2 See Mr. T. W. Drury's Confession and Absolution, p. 88: "Is it 
 credible that CHRIST, on the day of His Resurrection, at the first solemn 
 meeting with His disciples, and in such solemnly impressive words, 
 instituted only a minor sacrament ? "
 
 Binding and Loosing. 151 
 
 has read Dr. Dale's Lectures on the Ephesians, can forget his 
 noble words on the Divine forgiveness ; but when we have read 
 him to the end, we still miss the meeting-point. The sacramental 
 system may be a way for fools to travel ; and yet the only sure way 
 wherein " the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err." Nor 
 is it given to us to know whether our LORD, on rising again, was 
 occupied with His own redeeming thought, simple and sublime, 
 or whether the needs of His poor feeble creatures, divers and 
 manifold, may not rather have engaged the attention of the 
 mighty Conqueror. As to Penitence being a "minor sacrament," 
 it is only such by comparison with the two great Sacraments of 
 the Gospel. A means of grace by which souls recover their 
 baptismal life cannot be regarded as an insignificant fruit of the 
 Resurrection of JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 Liddon says, (on Rom. i. 17) that " man is actually and 
 inwardly freed from the guilt of sin at the moment when that 
 sanctifying grace, which is the HOLY GHOST Himself, streams 
 into man's heart ; and each effort flows directly from the action 
 of faith, directed upon GOD'S redeeming mercy in CHRIST." 1 We 
 do not contravene this most precious doctrine if we add, that the 
 sacraments of Baptism and Absolution provide nearer objects 
 for faith to rest upon, provided always that those are appre- 
 hended as means for securing GOD'S pardon and the grace of 
 justification. 
 
 VII. Some confusion has arisen from the various metaphors 
 employed to illustrate the minister's part. S. Augustine draws 
 a distinction which is well known, between CHRIST, who alone 
 raises the dead, and His disciples, who do but loose the grave- 
 clothes. 2 But S. Augustine's intention is not to exclude the 
 more grievous sins from the regular action of the Church in her 
 sacraments. His illustration is taken from Lazarus ; and the 
 idea in his mind is, really, to show the necessity for doing the 
 disciples' part as well as the Master's. And although loosing or 
 liberating is the most obvious benefit that the Church bestows 
 
 1 See Liddon's Explanatory Analysis of S. Paul's Ep. to the Romans, p. 17. 
 
 - See S. Aug. (Serm. xcviii. 6) : Ille suscitavit mortuum : illi solverunt 
 ligatum. See also his Enarrat. in Psalm ci., Serm. ii. : Merito per 
 Ecclesiam dari solutio peccatorum potest.
 
 152 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 (because this has what answers to it outwardly, in the visible 
 restoration of the offender), yet at the same time the Church 
 dispenses quickening grace, and works an inward change within 
 the soul. Nothing to disprove this can be quoted from 
 S. Augustine, or from any of the Fathers. Nevertheless, 
 there is a sense in which CHRIST alone raises the dead; because 
 He alone " hath life in Himself; " and what the Church imparts 
 is not her own life* but hers merely as derived from Him. 
 CHRIST alone is " the Resurrection and the Life," in whom 
 " he that was dead " may yet " live." Thus, elsewhere, 
 S. Augustine calls attention to the peculiar dignity of that 
 Divine act, from which the Church takes her authority, when 
 He "breathed on them and said, Receive ye the HOLY GHOST." 
 Quantus Deus est qui dat Deum ! Neque enim aliquis discipul- 
 orum Ejus dedit Spiritum Sanctum? 
 
 VIII. The nature of Absolution has now been set forth. 
 As to the other enquiry proposed at the beginning of the 
 chapter ; surely, being so great a boon, and coming from the 
 hand of our risen LORD a spiritual power breathed forth upon 
 His disciples for the saving of many souls Absolution does 
 deserve thankful acceptance, serious consideration, and the 
 utmost pains taken for a profitable use thereof. Though it be 
 not always a " passing from death unto life," it is never less 
 than " the opening of the prison to them that are bound/' and 
 the reception of the prodigal into his Father's house. If we 
 would reflect on those two Scriptural titles, " a bond-servant of 
 sin," " a child of GOD " what the difference between them 
 is as GOD sees it, and how unspeakable the gain to have 
 exchanged the former state for the latter we should never 
 " despise the riches of His goodness and forbearance and long- 
 suffering," who by a means so suited to our deepest needs, 
 encourages us to hope in His tender mercy for ever and ever. 
 
 IX. In this as in other sacraments, the priest is simply 
 CHRIST'S minister. He is guided by the HOLY SPIRIT to 
 a right discretion ; but his business in absolving is not to 
 become a lord over the actions of others. He interferes with 
 nothing outside the recital made to him, except what may 
 
 1 S. Aug. (Dt Trinit. lib. xv., cap. xxvi. 45-47.)
 
 Binding and Loosing. 153 
 
 indicate the sincerity, or otherwise, of his penitent's condi- 
 tion. 1 
 
 His authority, however, cannot be questioned. " Whose 
 soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them." The 
 Church of England has curtailed the form of Ordination in 
 some other respects, but those words she has not attempted 
 to erase. 2 The priest, says Bishop Andrewes, may be but as 
 " the pipe of wood," which, however, " by transmitting the 
 water makes the garden to bear herbs and flowers, though itself 
 never bears any." " Leave the men to GOD, to whom they 
 stand or fall : let the ordinances of GOD stand fast. CHRIST'S 
 breath goeth into and through every act of their office or 
 ministry, and by them conveyeth His saving grace unto 
 us all." 3 Which agrees exactly with S. Chrysostom: "Neither 
 angel nor archangel can work anything [in addition] to what 
 are given from GOD: the FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT, 
 dispenseth all things. But the priest lends his tongue, and 
 supplies his hand [for the ministry"]. 4 And yet it was not 
 CHRIST'S intention that the minister's part should be merely 
 mechanical. For His word to His apostles was, " Receive ye 
 the HOLY GHOST;" and, before, "The HOLY GHOST shall 
 teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, 
 whatsoever I have said unto you." And, " The Spirit of truth 
 shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall declare 
 it unto you." 
 
 POSTSCRIPT I. It will be seen that, in this small book, I have not 
 attempted to discuss the nature of Divine Forgiveness. For myself it is 
 enough to believe that GOD, "according to the multitude of His mercies, 
 does so put away the sins of those who truly repent, that He remembers 
 them no more." So " JESUS, that He might sanctify the people through 
 
 1 This will be considered again, under the head of Satisfaction, in 
 Chaps, ix. and x. 
 
 2 All the more remarkable, as it would have been easy to strike them 
 out, on the plea of their not occurring in the primitive Forms of Ordina- 
 tion. 
 
 3 See Andrewes' Works (vol. iii., Serm. ix., " Of the sending of the 
 HOLY GHOST.") 
 
 4 See S. Chrys. (In Joann xx. 22) Horn. Ixxxvi.
 
 154 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 His own Blood, suffered without the gate," " bearing our sins in His own 
 Body to the tree " outside the holy city, as the Lamb of GOD, " taking 
 away the sin of the world." By accepting sacramental absolution, we 
 are much strengthened in the happy conviction, that this merciful 
 oblivion on GOD'S part is no mere amnesty, but is accompanied by 
 spiritual renewal of the penitent ; who is regarded as once more capable 
 of the life of Divine sonship. It would be almost superfluous to allude 
 here to the very able treatment of the question of forgiveness, in the late 
 Dr. Moberly's Atonement and Personality. But can those who hold the 
 Catholic doctrine of Absolution require to be told that GOD'S reconcilia- 
 tion is not more retrospective than prospective ? not so much a sentence 
 of indemnity for the past, as a cure of the disease of sin ? 
 
 POSTSCRIPT II. This is not a commentary on the Book of Common 
 Prayer ; but I have been reminded, that some more particular mention 
 ought to have been made of the General Forms of Confession and 
 Absolution which occur in our Matins and Communion Office. We have 
 grown up with these, in the Church of England ; and many of us find 
 them both useful and comforting. They may be compared with what 
 are found in the Offices of Prime and Compline : where the hebdomadarius 
 and the choir, each in turn, without specifying the sins committed, 1 own 
 to a maxima cttlpa, and pray for each other to have mercy from GOD : 
 after which the hebdomadarius adds, " Indulgentiam, absolutionem, et 
 remissionem peccatorum 'nostrorum tribuat nobis omnipotens et 
 misericors Dominus." In all these cases, the confessions are intended 
 to be made by persons in a state of grace ; and it seems most natural 
 that the heavy self-accusation should refer to sins already repented of ; 
 which GOD'S children still own by a humble retrospect from time to time, 
 
 1 That is, as the Offices are usually said at the present time ; 
 whatever may have been the ancient practice in monasteries. The 
 comparison, however, is not exact ; for, in the old Offices, the Absolution 
 is " in the form of a prayer suitable to be said by all alike in mutual 
 interchange ; but here [in our Matins] it is declaratory and ministerial." 
 (Procter and Frere's New History of the Book of Common Prayer, p. 371.) 
 The uncertainty is as to the intention of the ministerial act. In the 
 Communion Office, it is nearly certain that a conveyance of remission of 
 sins to the contrite was intended : because the form of absolution is 
 taken from the Order of 1548, in which the priest was bidden to " pause 
 a while, to see if any man will withdraw himself : and if he perceive any 
 so to do, then let him commune with him privately at convenient leisure, 
 and see whether he can with good exhortation bring him to grace : and 
 after a little pause, the priest shall say," etc. Thus the absolution which 
 followed would be addressed only to those supposed on evidence to be 
 penitent, and would come as the climax to a definite exercise of repent- 
 ance. This disposes of Maskell's objection, that if this were a real 
 pardon, there would have been no force in the previous invitation, " Let 
 him come to me," etc. For that might mean, " Come now at once ! "
 
 Binding and Loosing. 155 
 
 because their earthly trial still goes on, and they stand in view of a great 
 account to be rendered after death. I know that many devout persons 
 would include their present sins of infirmity among those by which they 
 " have erred and strayed from GOD'S ways like lost sheep." But there is 
 no real humility in exaggeration. We can hardly judge, indeed, of the 
 wonderful depths of contrition and self-abasement to which saints have 
 attained : S. Paul with his " less than the least," S. Vincent de Paul 
 calling himself " ce miserable," were perfectly honest. But such 
 expressions would not be real to all of us. Small daily faults (inattention 
 while at prayer, infirmity of temper, lack of exactness in speech, delay in 
 doing little acts of kindness, and the like), do not exile any of CHRIST'S 
 flock from His fold, nor send them forth to the bleak mountains where 
 the wolves are. Of such souls it cannot be said that " there is no health 
 in them." We may all use these general confessions, but for many people 
 they should be either a " remembrance," which, though of a time long 
 past, is still " grievous ; " or else take the shape of fervent intercessions 
 for those now " out of the way ; " for we are " members one of another." 
 And what is spoken after is not strictly an absolution, since those present 
 are not supposed to be " tied and bound ; " (or, if they are, cannot be 
 " loosed " without explicit confession of what is personal to themselves). 
 But it is an assurance of peace to the conscience, given to those who 
 truly love GOD, and grieve for their offence against Him ; though that 
 were in little things, or long ago. Another view is, that the priest stands 
 up to show the way to reconciliation. He promises his ministry to those 
 who shall be ready to seek it, after they, and all present, have besought 
 the " Almighty GOD, who desireth not the death of a sinner," to grant 
 " true repentance and His HOLY SPIRIT." It is thus that Keble may 
 have understood the Absolutions of the Divine Office, in his well-known 
 lines 
 
 " Each morn and eve, the golden keys 
 
 Are lifted in the sacred hand, 
 To show the sinner on his knees 
 
 Where heaven's bright doors wide open stand." 
 
 (Lyra Apostolica : " The Three Absolutions.") 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII. 
 
 QUOTATIONS are subjoined from Hooker and Jeremy Taylor; not as if we 
 were bound by their authority (for the Church of England has not 
 canonised these or any other Doctors of her own), but because of the 
 high regard in which their names are held, and the great interest they 
 took in the subject. 
 
 The Sixth Book of the Ecclesiastical Polity was considered by Keble 
 to be a " rough draft, wrongly inserted into the great work." It does
 
 156 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 not deserve the same respectful attention as (for instance) the yyth 
 chapter of book v. Yet the following extracts are interesting ; although 
 Hooker's hand in them is chiefly that of a compiler : 
 
 " The greatest thing which made men forward and willing upon their 
 knees to confess whatsoever they had committed against GOD, and in no 
 wise to be withheld from the same with any fear of disgrace, contempt, 
 or obloquy, which might ensue, was their fervent desire to be helped and 
 assisted with the prayers of GOD'S saints. Wherein as S. James doth 
 exhort unto mutual confession, alleging this only for a reason, that just 
 men's devout prayers are of great avail with GOD : so it hath been 
 heretofore the use of penitents for that intent to unburthen their minds, 
 even to private persons, and to crave their prayers." He then 
 gives quotations from various Fathers, and among others from S. 
 Gregory of Nyssa 1 : " Humble thyself, and take unto thee such of thy 
 brethren as are of one mind, and do bear kind affection toward thee, 
 that they may together mourn and labour for thy deliverance. . . . Make 
 the priest, as a father, partaker of thy affliction and grief: be bold to 
 impart unto him the things that are most secret : he will have care both 
 of thy safety and of thy credit." And this from Tertullian 2 : "The 
 Church is as CHRIST Himself: when thou dost, therefore, put forth thy 
 hands to the knees of thy brethren, thou touchest CHRIST : it is CHRIST 
 unto whom thou art a suppliant : so when they pour out their tears 
 over them, it is even CHRIST that taketh compassion . . . neither can 
 that be easily denied, for which the SON is Himself contented to become 
 a suitor." (Book vi. chap. iv. 7.) 
 
 When he comes to the practical question, although he allows that 
 " the churches of Germany " [Protestant] are agreed " that all men 
 should, at certain times, confess their offences to GOD in the hearing 
 of GOD'S ministers," he would have private confession resorted to only 
 by those who are much disquieted in conscience, and distrustful of 
 themselves, so that they cannot find peace in any other way." 
 (Chap. iv. 16.) 
 
 Instead whereof, he proposes this as a better alternatives: "Seeing 
 
 1 This quotation is verified by Keble, as taken from an Oratio in eos 
 qtii alias acerbe judicant : not published in Greek. 
 
 2 The reference is to Tertullian De Panitentia, cap. x. 
 
 3 No doubt many pious persons to this day use the General Con- 
 fession with Hooker's intention. And yet, as everybody knows, Hooker 
 himself went regularly to confession to Saravia ! For other Anglican 
 or " Anglo- Catholic " authorities, the reader is referred to Maskell's 
 Doctrine of Absolution, chap. ii. He quotes Cosin, Sparrow, L'Estrange, 
 Bingham, and a few more ; but there is little agreement among them. 
 The Absolution at Matins, in particular, has always been a source of 
 perplexity to those who were not content to accept it as a declaration of 
 GOD'S mercy to sinners. Cosin indeed thought that its intention was 
 prospective : it was to assure the people that the prayers in which they
 
 Binding and Loosing. 157 
 
 day by day we in our Church begin our public prayers to Almighty GOD 
 with public acknowledgment of our sins ; in which confession every man, 
 prostrate as it were before His glorious Majesty, crieth guilty against 
 himself, and the minister with one sentence pronounceth universally all 
 clear, whose acknowledgment thus made hath proceeded from a pure 
 penitent mind ; what reason is there every man should not, under the 
 general terms of confession, represent to himself his own particulars 
 whatsoever, and adjoining thereto that affection which a contrite spirit 
 worketh, embrace to as full effect the words of Divine grace, as if the 
 same were severally and particularly uttered with addition of solemnities 
 for the strengthening of man's affiance in GOD'S peculiar mercy towards 
 them ? " (Chap. iv. 15.) 
 
 Jeremy Taylor (Doctrine and Practice of Repentance, chap. x. sect. 4) : 
 " Confession to a priest, the minister of pardon and reconciliation, the 
 curate of souls, and the guide of consciences, is of so great use and 
 benefit to all that are heavily laden with their sins, that they who 
 carelessly neglect it are neither lovers of the peace of consciences, nor 
 careful for the advantages of their souls. . . . There are many cases of 
 conscience, which the penitent cannot determine, many necessities which 
 he does not perceive, many duties which he omits, many abatements of 
 duty which he ignorantly or presumptuously does make, much partiality 
 in the determination of his own interests : and to build up a soul 
 requires so much wisdom, so much severity, so many arts, such caution 
 and observance, such variety of notices, great learning, great prudence, 
 great piety ; that as all ministers are not worthy of that charge ... so, 
 it is certain, there are not many of the people that can worthily and 
 sufficiently do it themselves : and, therefore, although ... it cannot 
 be said that GOD hath by an express law required it ... yet to some 
 persons it hath put on so many degrees of charity and prudence, and 
 is so apt to minister to their superinduced needs ; that although to 
 do it is not a necessary obedience, yet it is a necessary charity : it is not 
 necessary in respect of a positive express commandment, yet it is in 
 order to certain ends, which cannot so well be provided for by any other 
 instrument." 
 
 Elsewhere, when Jeremy Taylor combats extreme views of the 
 sacramental necessity of Penitence, he shows himself somewhat in- 
 consistent with what has just been quoted, and adopts what he supposes 
 to have been the opinion of S. Chrysostom, Cassian, and Laurence 
 of Novara, against having recourse to a priest. But in the passage 
 above he is certainly a warm advocate of the practice. Ascetic writers 
 like Origen, S. Basil, and S. Leo, seem to have had great weight with 
 him, and he fully admits that sick souls do need a physician, and that 
 
 were about to join would be acceptable : (" Wherefore let us beseech 
 Him," etc.) See Cosin's Works, vol. v. 443.
 
 158 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 confession is the means to obtain one. He states this very plainly in 
 The Golden Grove : 
 
 " There is great use of holy confession ; which, though it be not 
 generally in all cases, and peremptorily, commanded, as if without it no 
 salvation could possibly be had ; yet you are advised by the Church, 
 under whose discipline you live, that, before you are to receive the Holy 
 Sacrament, or when you are visited with any dangerous sickness, if 
 you find any one particular sin, or more, that lies heavy upon you, [you 
 are] to disburden yourself of it into the bosom of your confessor, who 
 not only stands between GOD and you to pray for you, but hath the 
 power of the keys committed to him, upon your true repentance, to 
 absolve you in CHRIST'S Name from those sins which you have confessed 
 to him." 
 
 Jeremy Taylor's view of Absolution was, however, peculiar (as will 
 be noticed in the next chapter). In his Holy Dying, he actually 
 substitutes a form of his own for that in the Visitation of the Sick, 
 carefully striking out the mention of CHRIST'S " authority committed " to 
 His minister. But Svhen he speaks of confession he is generally most 
 helpful. Thus, in another section of his Treatise on Repentance, the 
 substance of what he says is, " Make confession always for the glory of 
 GOD, with sincerity, simplicity, truthfulness. Yet with reserve ; and 
 accuse yourself, not others. To reveal others' sins in confession is 
 a direct defamation. Let not shame deter : the greater the shame, the 
 more glorious the repentance. Whereas, sins unconfessed are most 
 commonly unpardoned, and sins unpardoned will be punished before 
 the angels." Together with other rules and suggestions, all most pious 
 and edifying. 1 
 
 It is a pleasure to add the following from that most admirable bishop, 
 Thomas Ken, who, in his Manual for Winchester Scholars, charges 
 " Philotheus " " Not to be ashamed to unburthen his soul freely . . . 
 that, besides ghostly counsel, he may receive the benefit of absolution : 
 for . . . confession to our spiritual guide is by many devout souls found 
 to be very advantageous to true repentance." 
 
 Bishop Andrewes is quoted at the end of Chap. viii. 
 
 1 It would be no bad plan to learn all one can about confession from 
 Jeremy Taylor, and then betake ourselves to Andrewes for instruction on 
 the ministry of absolution. Each of these great divines is strong where 
 the other is weak, and vice versa. Bishop Andrewes often heard con- 
 fessions; but in his famous sermon on S. John xx. 23 he says not a word 
 on that side of our duty.
 
 Objections Considered. 159 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Objections Considered. 
 
 [This chapter could not well have been spared ; but the author hopes 
 that those of his readers who are not objectors, will at once pass on 
 to Chapter ix. He himself has no appetite for controversy, and 
 would gladly have waited for others, better equipped, to enter these 
 lists.] 
 
 OBJECTIONS must next be considered. They are many, and 
 strenuously urged. Perhaps their number may take off a little 
 from their great importance, and suggest a possibility that 
 those attacking may be exhausted before very long. If the 
 first objections raised had been victorious, would so many more 
 have been placed on the field ? 
 
 Yet, it is scarcely to be supposed that our defence will 
 appear successful at every point. When a treasure like 
 Absolution is found in poor "earthen vessels," some people 
 will persist in declaring that the vessels are not fit to hold it. 
 Nor can we doubt that some of the arguments still brought to 
 the front have a long Protestant tradition behind them. 
 
 It would be vain to deny that, in the world at large, the 
 number of opponents of this means of grace is very con- 
 siderable. Dislike of the clergy may be a motive in many 
 cases, aided by contempt for their spiritual pretensions. In 
 some instances there will have been foolish assumption on the 
 priest's part, to excuse or justify ill-feeling. The opposition is 
 chiefly of feeling ; and, whatever that amounts to, one cannot say 
 that there is often enough of actual violence with it to suggest 
 persecution. Of course, such a thing might very well be. Our 
 Master, Himself " despised and rejected of men," warned His
 
 160 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 disciples that, for His sake, they too would be " hated of all : " 
 " yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think 
 that he doeth GOD service." But there is no such cruel rage 
 at the present day ; and although persecution is sometimes 
 threatened, our adversaries are soon tired or ashamed ; so that 
 the victim commonly escapes unscathed. We are not now 
 under the Long Parliament. 
 
 Yet the dislike is bitter enough ; and, from the Protestant 
 point of view, not unreasonable. One cannot be surprised that 
 offence is taken at an assertion of judicial authority over men's 
 consciences, such as Absolution is thought to imply. And the 
 indignation felt is all the greater, because for a long time the 
 English Church was content to do her work almost without 
 Absolution; 1 just as, even now, many clergymen leave that part 
 of their office in abeyance. Indeed the neglect is still palpable, 
 and has its effect upon the laity, even against their real 
 convictions. For few things are harder than to keep up 
 respect for a name that is had everywhere " in derision," and 
 made " a proverb of reproach." 
 
 Under circumstances like these, we, and those, equally, with 
 whom we hope to pursue a friendly argument, should endeavour 
 to rid the mind of prejudice. Unless we are willing to make 
 this effort, we shall assuredly labour in vain. Let both sides 
 have a fair hearing, and each make the best of his own case. 
 
 I. Of the more respectable objections, one, which deserves 
 attention, is when people ask how it was that the apostles 
 never asserted or used this pretended power of theirs, to remit 
 or to retain sins ? That sort of argument has a certain degree 
 of force, not to be ignored ; and it has been employed from our 
 own point of view, in an earlier chapter: when, against 
 S. Chrysostom's exalted doctrine of the keys as viewed in the 
 hands of S. Peter, was set the more measured though very real 
 respect shown by that illustrious Father to S. Peter's successor 
 
 1 Except, of course, that the two general forms were always used, at 
 Matins and at Holy Communion; and some clergymen would occasionally 
 read the first Exhortation to Holy Communion, on to the end. There 
 were also a few pious people who went to confession ; see the Introduc- 
 tion to Chaps, v. and vi.
 
 Objections Considered. 161 
 
 in his own day. 1 His practice, we thought, must be preferred 
 to his rhetoric. But there is no true parallel between that case 
 and this. What S. Chrysostom may have written, hyperboli- 
 cally, is one thing : what our Blessed LORD said with plenary 
 authority to His apostles, is another. The refusal of the 
 apostles to absolve, if it were so, could not invalidate a com- 
 mission from the lips of Him who is the Truth, and whose 
 witness to Himself was, that " all power was given unto Him in 
 heaven and in earth." Human practice cannot be put before 
 Divine precept. 
 
 But now what are the facts ? Is it so, that " there is not 
 a single instance to be found in the Acts, of any apostle using 
 such absolution after confession, nor any trace in the Pastoral 
 Epistles of such confession and absolution being recom- 
 mended?" 2 Yes, this is true, or nearly true. A number of 
 people at Ephesus who had " believed," (that is, had received 
 baptism^) being conscience-stricken, came to S. Paul " con- 
 fessing and showing their deeds : " but we do not hear that he 
 absolved them. And although S. Timothy is bidden to " lay 
 hands " on others, the allusion there is to Ordination, not the 
 reconciliation of sinners. 4 Perhaps S. Luke's object in Acts 
 xix. may have been to record a great wave of conversion 
 what the apostle called the " opening of a great door " to him 
 at Ephesus and so he might naturally pass over minor 
 incidents, which would be inferred from his account without 
 special mention. But it is impossible to tell. As regards the 
 Pastoral Epistles, we may advance a more positive opinion, 
 that S. Paul was not instructing " his son Timothy " how to 
 administer sacraments, but drawing a pattern of right govern- 
 ment, by which he should bear rule in the Church. Still, there is 
 no allusion to the power of the keys ; and our objector will seem 
 to have carried his point. However, he ought not, anyhow, to 
 have omitted the story of the incestuous Corinthian, in I Cor. v. 
 
 1 See one of the foot-notes to Chap. vii. 
 
 2 From Bishop J. C. Ryle's Commentary on S. John xx. 
 
 3 The "believers" in Acts xix. 18 would be distinct from the 
 unbaptized sorcerers in the next verse. 
 
 4 See Liddon's Explanatory Analysis of the First Epistle to Timothy, 
 p. 67. 
 
 M
 
 1 62 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 and 2 Cor. ii. One may grant that there is no decisive proof, 
 even there : yet the passage is worth considering. Perhaps 
 what S. Paul gave to that man, on his sincere repentance, was 
 an indulgence, (as it would have been called later ;) not the 
 forgiveness of his sin, but a remission of the remainder of his 
 punishment. He had been " delivered unto Satan : " that is, he 
 had received the greater excommunication, removing from him 
 that protection against Satan's assault which is only promised 
 within the Church's Communion. 1 Afterwards, when he 
 repented, S. Paul "forgave;" but the word in the original 2 
 might rather be translated " indulged ; " and the faithful 
 joined their " indulgence " with that of their chief pastor. 
 On the other hand, when S. Paul says that he acted " in 
 the person of CHRIST," one would suppose that he looked 
 to CHRIST as Priest and Advocate, and took His authority to 
 cleanse the unhappy man from his guilt. A cleansing there 
 must have been, before any indulgence could be granted : why 
 not a sacramental cleansing ? Nor do all the Fathers see an 
 indulgence here : S. Ambrose calls it a " remission," meaning 
 probably an absolution. 3 This passage must be left as doubtful, 
 but not dismissed as if it had no bearing on the point in 
 dispute. 
 
 Again, it is obvious that texts declaring the " royal priest- 
 hood" of Christians cannot be pressed into the service.* 
 Apostles knew of such a hierarchy, but it embraced all the 
 citizens of CHRIST'S kingdom, and its business was " to offer 
 the sacrifice of praise," not to make atonement for transgres- 
 sions. (Except as all were concerned in the work of conversion; 
 which will be considered presently.) 
 
 Still, one cannot agree with objections founded on the 
 
 1 On i Tim. i. 20, Liddon's comment is, " Exclusion from the Church 
 of GOD by excommunication implies surrender to ' the prince of this 
 world,' who reigns outside it, and seizes those who pass the frontier." 
 
 2 Kexaptfffj-ai. But Dr. Swete says that this word = d<t>Uvai, comparing 
 Ephes. iv. 32. 
 
 3 S. Ambrose (De Pan. ii. 7) joins the tenth verse of 2 Cor. ii. with the 
 fifteenth, and says, " S Paul could declare that we are ' a sweet savour of 
 CHRIST in them that are saved, 1 because he had made the house at Corinth 
 sweet unguento apostolica remissionis." 
 
 4 i S. Pet. ii. 9 ; Rev. i. 6.
 
 Objections Considered. 163 
 
 apostles' silence and supposed inaction. One would not wish 
 to escape by pretending that there were no post-baptismal sins 
 to engage their attention ; for, indeed, the instance just quoted 
 from Corinth proves the contrary, and S. Peter in his Second 
 Epistle, has some stern things to say about those who had 
 " turned back " or lapsed. But the point is this. First, the 
 Book of the Acts contains acts of apostles, not of priests. 1 
 Then, the Epistles are fatherly counsels of apostles to their 
 converts, full of glorious doctrine, but not entering into matters 
 liturgical, nor supplying guidance for the various functions of 
 the sacred ministry. Thus it is too little to ask, Why did not 
 the apostles mention Absolution ? or, Why has not S. Luke 
 recorded an instance of their binding and loosing ? One must 
 be prepared with a wider question, Why did not S. Paul 
 baptize ? or, Why is there no mention of the form used by him, 
 or by S. Peter, when the disciples " came together to break the 
 Bread ? " But in truth, when the apostle of the Gentiles 
 pleaded that CHRIST sent him " not to baptize, but to preach 
 the Gospel," he covered the whole ground, and apologised for 
 his lack of attention to some other matters, scarcely less 
 important than baptism. His part, as founder and ruler, was 
 to preach and convert, to " ordain elders," to have " the care 
 of all the churches." To administer sacraments would be 
 the province of " pastors and teachers," whom he left behind 
 him. 
 
 Some may perhaps remind us that this does not exhaust 
 the argument from silence. For it is not as if apostles had had 
 nothing to say about the forgiveness of sins. See, on the 
 contrary, what S. Paul writes to the Romans, Ephesians, and 
 Colossians ; or the exceedingly copious teaching of S. John in 
 his first Epistle. But they always point direct to CHRIST the 
 Saviour ; never to a mere human instrument. 
 
 The answer is still of the same kind. New Testament 
 writers give us the foundation of our faith and practice : they 
 do not tell us how, on the strength of what we believe, we 
 
 1 The apostles, of course, performed the office of priests, in the fullest 
 and in every sense : but in the Book of Acts they are shown exercising 
 duties peculiar to apostles, in founding and establishing churches.
 
 164 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 should approach GOD by prayer and praise. S. John, for 
 example, is especially the theologian of the Incarnation, and its 
 extension by sacraments. He has a great deal to impart on 
 the new birth of water and the Spirit, and on the gift of eternal 
 life through eating CHRIST'S Flesh and drinking His Blood. 
 But S. John never speaks of Baptism and Holy Communion as 
 regular means of grace, ordained by CHRIST and observed by 
 His Church. With forgiveness of sins after baptism he adopts 
 the same course. In his Gospel he indeed mentions the grant 
 of authority to forgive, by our LORD, after the Resurrection ; 
 but in his Epistle whether written before or after the Gospel 
 is of no consequence he is silent as to the working out of that 
 commission, and simply points to the great Intercession in 
 heaven, from which all priestly acts derive their value. " My 
 little children, these things write I unto you, that ye may not 
 sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the 
 FATHER, JESUS CHRIST the righteous ; and He is the pro- 
 pitiation for our sins." If S. John had proceeded in any way 
 but this, his treatment of the forgiveness of sins would have 
 been at variance with what he had said of our union with 
 CHRIST through eating His Flesh ; but now, just as the 
 language of that sixth chapter really necessitates the priest's 
 office to celebrate, so does the language of the Epistle invite 
 ministerial Absolution. 1 And it is impossible to read at all 
 carefully the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel, without 
 perceiving our LORD'S intention to delegate much to His 
 disciples. " FATHER, I manifested Thy Name unto the men 
 whom Thou gavest Me out of the world. . . . The words 
 which Thou gavest Me I have given unto them, and they 
 received them. ... I am no more in the world, and these are 
 in the world, and I come to Thee. ... As Thou didst send Me 
 into the world, even so sent I them into the world. . . . And 
 the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given unto them ; 
 
 1 Archbishop Alexander (The Epistles of S. John, p. 199) says : "This 
 Epistle . . . with its deep and mystic realisation of the double flow from 
 the pierced side upon the Cross . . . unquestionably has the sacramental 
 sense diffused throughout it. The Sacraments are not in obtrusive pro- 
 minence ; yet for those who have eyes to see they lie in deep and tender 
 distances."
 
 Objections Considered. 165 
 
 . . . that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and 
 lovedst them, even as Thou lovest Me." Whether our LORD 
 here intended to bestow a special blessing on their work of 
 recovering penitents, we cannot tell ; but one would think that 
 their association with their Divine Master could nowhere be 
 more intimate than in that. 1 S. Paul, too, though the records 
 of what he did in this respect are scanty, must have owned a 
 real obligation of the kind when he wrote as follows : " All 
 things are of GOD, who reconciled us to Himself through 
 CHRIST, and gave unto us the ministry of reconciliation ; to 
 wit, that GOD was in CHRIST reconciling the world unto Himself, 
 not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed 
 unto us the word of reconciliation. We are ambassadors there- 
 fore on behalf of CHRIST, as though GOD were intreating by us: 
 we beseech you on behalf of CHRIST, be ye reconciled to GOD. 
 Him who knew no sin He made to be sin on our behalf; that 
 ye might become the righteousness of GOD in Him. And 
 working together with Him we intreat also that ye receive not 
 the grace of GOD in vain." 2 Words which, if they do not of 
 necessity involve a power of the keys, are surely germane to 
 that, and consistent with it from first to last. 
 
 II. Let us turn next to an objection from a different point 
 of view. Hitherto it has been urged that there neither is, nor 
 ever was, any ministerial Absolution in the Church, because the 
 apostles so it is pretended never absolved those who came to 
 them repenting and believing. Now on the contrary, we are to 
 hear that the whole Church of the baptized, laity as well as 
 clergy, have been engaged in a great work of reconciliation 
 through all the ages ; and that this was what our Saviour 
 intended and commanded. What shall we think about this ? 
 
 All depends upon what action of the Church is meant. In 
 one sense, this theory is abundantly and gloriously true. So 
 far from contradicting, we meet it with full and thankful accept- 
 ance. The authority with which ministerial or sacerdotal acts 
 of the Catholic Church are invested, belongs to them inasmuch 
 as they are acts of the mystical Body of CHRIST, which He 
 
 1 Compare S. Luke xxiv. 46-50. * 2 Cor. v. i8-vi. 2.
 
 1 66 The Use cf Penitence. 
 
 fills with His own life and energy by the HOLY SPIRIT His 
 breath. 1 Now, that mystical Body is the whole communion of 
 the faithful, of which each separate member has been taken into 
 vital union with JESUS CHRIST an union commenced in 
 Baptism, sustained and increased by the Holy Eucharist, and 
 which is the foretaste of the heavenly glory. Again, this whole 
 communion of the " saints " is GOD'S Ecclesia, which, as a 
 Divine Society chosen out of the world, He sends forth into 
 the world, that it may convert the world to His obedience. 
 Therefore, whether we consider vital energies stored in the 
 Church, or the Church's mission to mankind, there can be no 
 detaching the clergy from the faithful laity. All must partake 
 in the various functions enjoined, and among others, in the 
 ministering of GOD'S forgiveness to the contrite. That is an 
 essential part of the duty laid upon the whole of CHRIST'S 
 Body. To take the laity away, would be as if one confined the 
 whole vitality of a frame within one of its organs. In the 
 spiritual order, that is impossible. No part " can say to another 
 part, I have no need of thee." S. Paul's doctrine of corporate 
 solidarity and interdependence is what everybody knows. Con- 
 sequently, in whatever efforts the clergy make for the salvation 
 of souls, they trust to have the laity with them. " Finally, 
 brethren, pray for us, that the Word of the LORD may have 
 free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you." This was 
 fully recognised in the early Church, where (as we saw in Chap, 
 iv.) congregations would meet to add the force of united 
 supplication to the bishop's own prayers for the penitents. 
 Condoleat universum corpus (said Tertullian) et ad remedium 
 conlaboret. And our English Bishop Andrewes has recognised 
 the same duty ; when, in that beautiful Fourth Day Exercise of 
 his, after mention made of " the honourable Presbytery, and all 
 the clergy," he adds, " Remember, LORD, our brethren around 
 
 2 This is what S. Augustine appears to mean, when he says that S. 
 Peter received the keys, not as an individual, but representing the whole 
 Church : " Quod enim ad ipsum proprie pertinet, natura unus homo erat, 
 gratia unus Christianus, abundantiore gratia unus idemque primus 
 apostolus: sed quando ei dictum est, Tibi dabo claves regni coelorum 
 etc. . . . universam significabat Ecclesiam. (Tractat. cxxiv. In S. Joann. 
 Evang.)
 
 Objections Considered. 167 
 
 us, and praying with us in this holy hour, for their zeal and 
 earnestness' sake." 1 
 
 One might have hoped, therefore, that controversy would 
 be at an end. We all desire that the conversion of sinners 
 should be made the business of the whole Church, and believe 
 that that was the will of our Divine Master. None of us would 
 underrate the consecration of the faithful laity, nor the holiness 
 of their calling, nor the importance and dignity of their service. 
 
 And yet there is a fear that some, who would use this 
 language, may intend to pit the laity against the clergy, so as 
 to discourage the latter from thinking to become GOD'S agents 
 in any sense peculiar to their order. 2 They want, indeed, to 
 establish, not a " royal priesthood " of clergy and laity, but a 
 secular level for all alike. However, it is neither necessary nor 
 safe to pry into motives. 3 What one has to do is to lay down 
 certain conditions which must be maintained together with what 
 has been called the larger view. 4 
 
 The whole Church is sent into the world, in His Name who 
 "came not to judge the world, but to save it." Yet each 
 member must serve in that " vocation and ministry " which are 
 his own : not in some other, to which he has received no 
 calling. " It is not lawful " (we read in our Article xxiii.) " for 
 any man to take upon him the office of publick preaching, or 
 ministering the Sacraments in the Congregation, before he be 
 lawfully called, and sent to execute the same ... by men who 
 have publick authority given unto them," etc.s In other words, 
 
 1 fjiv-fiaO-rin Kvpie rCiv trepuTruTuv TJ/MV a5e\(j>uv Kal rvMVX.OfJ^f&f rifuv iv TCLVTTJ TTJ 
 ayLq. upq.. 
 
 2 Theophylact had expressed himself to the effect that a layman, by 
 forgiving his enemy, might loose him, and have him loosed in heaven. 
 Jewel took this to mean that a layman's absolution was literally the same 
 thing as a priest's! (See Jewel's Works, vol. iv. 494-496.) 
 
 3 Mr. Drury has the justice to say of Tindale, that " By imputing 
 motives, he does not strengthen his plain statement of facts." (Conf. and 
 Absol. p. 54.) 
 
 4 The ecclesiastical power of secular persons, said Thorndike, is 
 "cumulative, not destructive " to the proper power of the clergy. What 
 is true of discipline is true also of administering sacraments ; and true 
 a fortiori. 
 
 5 I am afraid it must be allowed that the language of Article xxiii. is 
 vagueness itself. If Cranmer wrote it, he probably meant that those who 
 " minister publicly in the congregation " do so by the King's licence,
 
 1 68 TJie Use of Penitence. 
 
 to administer Sacraments belongs only to those duly sent forth 
 by the chief pastors of the Church. Before one can enter on 
 that part of the work of saving souls, he must have received 
 what the apostle in writing to S. Timothy, called a special 
 " gift of GOD, which is in thee through the laying on of my 
 hands." This is the first thing to be specified as a condition 
 unalterable. 
 
 The next is, that Absolution, as CHRIST ordained it, comes 
 under this head, of sacraments reserved for his priests only. 
 Let us avoid contentious matter, by all means, while we may. 
 But we cannot pass by the notable fact that the Fathers, if 
 they wrote about the Church's Penitence at all, were quite sure 
 to treat it as inseparable from the priest's office. (Unless, of 
 course, they were alluding to venial faults.) " Only those," 
 says S. Cyprian, " who bear office in the Church, and are set 
 there by the LORD'S ordering, may . . . bestow remission of 
 sins." 1 S. Ambrose says that only priests are permitted to 
 bind and loose ; the Church claiming this right, because she 
 has true priests. 2 And again, that the power to remit sins by 
 penitence was given first to the apostles, who derived it from 
 the virtue of our LORD'S breathing on them the HOLY GHOST ; 
 and that the apostles transmitted the same to those ministering 
 the priest's office. 3 We do not defer to the Fathers as in- 
 fallible. Still, their testimony has its proper place in history ; 
 and very remarkable, surely, is this concurrence of opinion 
 among them so many ascribing these high spiritual preroga- 
 tives to the clergy, and denying them, equally, to all who had 
 not been ordained. 
 
 revocable when he pleases ; and that there need be no sacred ministry at 
 all unless the King chooses to have it. Happily, whatever astounding 
 opinions Cranmer may have propounded in his Questions and Answers on 
 the Sacraments, he left this article so vaguely worded as to be patient of a 
 Catholic interpretation. Otherwise we may be sure that it would have 
 undergone a radical alteration at one of the subsequent revisions. We 
 ought to say, too, that Article xxiii. is concerned with the Mission of the 
 clergy rather than with their Ordination, though the latter is implied. 
 
 1 S. Cypr., Ep. Ixxiii. See also De Lapsis, 19. 
 
 - S. Ambr., De Pcenit. lib. i. cap. 2. 
 
 3 De Pcenit. lib. ii. cap. 2. See also De Spir. Sancto, lib. iii. cap. 18 
 quoted near the end of this chapter.
 
 Objections Considered. 169 
 
 But most persons will prefer to turn to S. John xx., and 
 simply read the passage over for themselves, without prepos- 
 session or prejudice. Surely, then, you would say that the 
 Master was here qualifying His disciples by a very special gift 
 for a very special charge which He was laying upon them ? 
 " Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and 
 whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." The apostles 
 are to judge and discriminate between consciences, and so, not 
 blindly, but under a most solemn responsibility, to absolve or 
 refuse absolution. CHRIST'S special gift of the HOLY GHOST 
 at once endues them with a capacity from Himself, and 
 distinguishes them from others of His own followers. Indeed, 
 if some learned critic, after reading those sacred words, should 
 opine that they applied to none, even of the clergy, except 
 those few apostles to whom our LORD was actually speaking, 1 
 one would be much less surprised than one is by being told 
 that they were addressed to the whole crowd of believers. 
 What ? Was every Christian, then, to be a key-bearer for his 
 neighbour's benefit ? Were all the baptized, down to the 
 youngest adult, able, just by a kind word or a prayer, to assure 
 guilty souls that their chains were broken for ever ? 
 
 Not so, you may answer. We are thinking of a restoration 
 of character, granted to persons who had been in disgrace. 
 That is all that absolution means a public reconciliation, in 
 which not only do the laity take equal parts with the clergy, 
 but, as we should prefer to put it, the forgiveness is from the 
 congregation at large, the clergy merely acting as spokesmen. 
 
 Now here the author ought to allow that he has avoided 
 the question of ecclesiastical punishments and pardons, perhaps 
 too much. That almost martyr for discipline, Bishop Wilson 
 of Sodor and Man, would hardly have approved of such a 
 politic silence. In ancient times a great feature was made of 
 the comprehensive voice of excommunication, issuing from the 
 whole body of the faithful ; when the bishop pronounced 
 
 1 Some such idea was mooted by Calvin : the power did not go 
 beyond the apostles, and was merely local. He might have borrowed 
 this from Tertullian, De Pudic. 21. It has been well refuted by Andrewes 
 (Sermons, vol. v. p. 91).
 
 170 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 judgment on CHRIST'S behalf, and the whole community 
 inflicted punishment by separating the offender from their 
 communion ; or again, afterwards, joined with the bishop in 
 remitting the whole or part, when they were certified of the 
 offender's repentance. The Presbyterians tried to revive this 
 in an amended form of their own, but could never gain a 
 permanent footing for it in England. 1 Practically, wherever 
 judgment by the laity has been tried, the Reformed bodies have 
 been obliged to elect elders as their representatives ; and it has 
 not been easy to escape the evils incidental to an oligarchy. 2 
 But, on the other hand, the duty of a bishop to excommunicate, 
 when the reasons appear sufficient, is undeniable now as ever ; 
 and when it is requisite that a member should be actually cut 
 off from church -membership till he repents, the bishop's 
 responsibility ought to be shared, as far as possible, by the 
 clergy and communicants (as some Colonial Dioceses now 
 provide by their Canons). 
 
 We should admit farther, to our opponents, that, were the 
 Church's public discipline restored after these precedents, there 
 would be nothing improper in applying to it the words 
 commonly used of absolution, viz., " binding and loosing," or 
 " the power of the keys." At least, the Council of Trent 
 enacted that priests should use their keys for binding, " in 
 chastisement of past sins " 3 (that would be, when they imposed 
 satisfaction, or "penance" after confession). And the Primitive 
 Church was wont to use the same language when speaking of 
 persons deposed by the act of a Council.* The Council's 
 sentence was supposed to have a " binding " force, in the sense 
 of S. Matt, xviii. 18. 
 
 But all this does not make a strong case against the stricter 
 
 1 For its unpopularity, see Mr. Hutton's History of the English Church 
 tinder Charles I. and the Commonwealth, p. 144. 
 
 " The Kirk of Scotland assigns lay elders, as assessors to the pastors 
 and doctors, for execution of discipline. Excommunication is pronounced 
 after three admonitions : " This his sin we bind, and pronounce the 
 same bound in heaven and earth," etc. (From Canon W. R. Churton's 
 Defence of Engl. Ordinal.) 
 
 3 Concil. Trident. Sess. xiv. cap. viii. 
 
 4 See Bright's Age of the Fathers, vol. ii. p. 348, for the case of Cyril 
 and Memnon, deposed by the Oriental party at Ephesus.
 
 Objections Considered. 171 
 
 use of the terms. Binding or loosing by the infliction of 
 penalties, or removal of the same, may be a good addition or, 
 in some cases, even a necessary public witness to the Church's 
 spiritual treatment of souls. But the sacrament is independent 
 of the discipline. Absolution, even when pronounced in public 
 (as many think that it was in ancient times), was always the 
 remission of sins, and as such will for ever hold its place in the 
 scheme of redemption. " The Church obeys CHRIST, by both 
 binding and loosing sin : . . . this right is permitted to priests 
 only." 1 That was the voice of the fourth century, and, indeed, 
 of the first also. " You who have caused sedition," says S. 
 Clement of Rome, " submit yourselves to the priests, and let 
 them train you unto repentance, bowing the knees of your 
 heart." 
 
 What exiles a man from the Kingdom of Heaven is the sin 
 of which he has been guilty. That deprives him of his sonship, 
 and puts him down among the slaves and bondsmen of Satan. 
 To restore such an one is a task in every way greater than the 
 abridgment of a punishment which human law or custom might 
 inflict on public criminals. For this is required the power of 
 the risen LORD, and His breathing of the HOLY GHOST on 
 men specially set apart for the work. Thus only can we 
 realise the majestic import of that greeting and commission, 
 " Peace be unto you : as the FATHER hath sent Me, even so 
 send I you." We must have the men specially set apart. And 
 yet, be it remembered, the laity are not unconcerned, even with 
 this most sacred ministry of forgiveness. For not only is it 
 possible that the penitent may owe his conversion to their 
 prayers, but his restoration can hardly be so private as not to 
 have their implicit consent, when they, as it were, open their 
 ranks to receive him, returning to GOD'S Altar. S. Matthew 
 xviii. 17 is partly applicable here. So is 2 Cor. ii. 6, 7 ; and 
 possibly, also, Gal. vi. I, 2. 
 
 III. After the first objectors, who would eliminate absolution 
 
 entirely, and the second who would have it non-ministerial, we 
 
 come to a third sort, who, accepting the limitation to the 
 
 apostles and their successors, are yet resolved not to allow 
 
 1 S. Ambr. De Pcen. lib. i. cap. 2.
 
 172 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 them any judicial discretion in binding and loosing, nor power 
 to work a spiritual change. 
 
 Either which is the favourite theory CHRIST'S ministers 
 absolve sinners by preaching CHRIST crucified, or they make 
 a general declaration of GOD'S willingness to forgive, which will 
 have a soothing and comfortable sound to those troubled in 
 mind. Both of these views have found favour with persons 
 sincerely pious of the Evangelical school. To Broad Church- 
 men the subject is not quite so congenial, but perhaps they also 
 would assent to one or other of these alternatives. 
 
 (i) First, solvere est docere. Maldonatus 1 would refute that 
 (the Lutheran doctrine of his day 2 ) by urging that, if it were 
 true, the Twelve would have received nothing from their LORD 
 but what they possessed already ; nay, what had been granted 
 in full to the seventy, and even to the Scribes and Pharisees. 
 For the Scribes, too, held " the key of knowledge," and sat in 
 the cathedra of Moses. But this is not quite conclusive ; for 
 there would be nothing strange if our Blessed LORD, in the 
 fresh glory of His Resurrection, full of the splendid hopes just 
 dawning on the world, had proclaimed anew this great function 
 of preaching, to the same men whom He would presently send 
 out to "make disciples of all nations." And we must remember 
 that the strength of the " Evangelical " position lies, very justly, 
 
 1 Maldonat. Comm. in S. Matt. xvi. So, too, Bishop Andrewes (Serin, 
 on Power of Absol.) : "The power of preaching was given them long 
 before, even when He sent them, and commanded them to preach the 
 kingdom of GOD, which was done before this power was promised which 
 was here bestowed . . . the one being given (S. Matt. x. 7), the other 
 promised after (S. Matt. xvi. 19). 
 
 2 The Rev. T. W. Drury (Confession and Absolution, pp. 2, 11,31,48, 101), 
 quotes largely from sixteenth-century Reformers holding the doctrine: 
 
 Tindale : " To bind and to loose is to tell people their faults, and to 
 preach mercy in CHRIST to all that repent." 
 
 Bullinger : " That sins are forgiven, the ministers do assuredly 
 declare by the preaching of the Gospel ; and by that preaching do bind 
 and loose," etc. 
 
 Jewel : " The priest hath the same power that CHRIST had, for that 
 he preacheth the same word of GOD." 
 
 Fulke : " The people that believe are absolved from their sins by the 
 ministry of the preacher." 
 
 And he (Mr. Drury) remarks, " It is a cardinal point in these 
 writers, that a public preaching is quite as effectual as a private ministry 
 of reconciliation."
 
 Objections Considered. 173 
 
 in this, that their best men have so keen a perception of the 
 virtue of declaring the glad tidings of deliverance from sin. 
 That good news is not to be kept in reserve, or merely 
 whispered in the ear. Preaching is to them as if they sounded 
 the trumpet of the jubilee, proclaiming everywhere the great 
 release, and "the acceptable year of the LORD." And although 
 the influence of Luther is now on the wane, there must still be 
 many who rejoice in cherishing the old " simple Gospel " of 
 believing and being saved. 1 So, perhaps, when considering 
 S. Matt, xvi., or S. John xx., their argument would be that no 
 other commission could have been issued to the apostles, or to 
 the Church, because nothing but Gospel - preaching was 
 required to set men free. When once the word was proclaimed 
 with power, sin's captives would be delivered, and the ancient 
 tyranny come to an end. 
 
 Now, one would gladly welcome the opinion that conviction 
 of sin has been due to earnest preaching. For certainly it has, 
 times innumerable. 2 How else did S. John the Baptist prepare 
 the way of CHRIST ? How else should we understand that 
 " pricking in the heart," when S. Peter, by his Pentecostal 
 sermon, had led many to faith in the Resurrection of " JESUS, 
 whom ye crucified ? " One would like to be as inclusive as 
 any Evangelical could desire, so long as they will not compel 
 us to be exclusive in another direction. 
 
 But as regards the charge given in the upper room, there 
 are certain things to be considered. First, whether our LORD 
 did not on other occasions both before and after His 
 Resurrection^ give such prominence to preaching as to make 
 allusion to it at this particular time unnecessary ? To that 
 question, however, various answers might be returned : the 
 facts are certain, but the inference doubtful. But, again, is 
 
 1 See S. John iii. 16; Acts x. 43 ; Rom. i. i6-x. 9 ; i S. John iv. 14, 
 15 : v. 11-13. 
 
 2 I should be the very last to disparage preaching as an instrument to 
 conversion. Even in a non-Catholic " Revival," though the methods are 
 faulty, the preacher may sometimes be a true Apollos. 
 
 3 See, for precepts, counsels, or examples of preaching, S. Matt, v., x., 
 xiii., xxiv., xxviii. ; S. Luke iii., iv., vi., viii., ix., x., xvi., xxiv. ; S. John i., 
 xv., xvii., etc.
 
 174 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 the Protestant interpretation really satisfactory, taking the 
 words as they stand in S. John xx. 23 ? When our LORD 
 requires discernment, so that some sins be remitted and others 
 retained, is it likely that He only means, " Let all men know 
 everywhere that I came to be their Saviour ? " Is this no 
 more than a repetition of what He spake to Nicodemus, " GOD 
 so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten SON, that 
 whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have 
 everlasting life ? " It might have been so, if He had kept to 
 the usual language : if He had talked of gathering in the 
 harvest, or proclaiming the kingdom of GOD, or appealing to 
 mankind to believe on Him. But there is not a word here of 
 pleading with men's wills, or convincing their understandings. 
 Nor does He go back to the universal promise of salvation. 
 The charge is not general ; the promise is conditional ; and the 
 words do certainly seem to bear a significance which there is 
 not in preaching sermons. Those who think otherwise must 
 surely have their eyes a little blinded by prejudice. 
 
 (2) But next, there are many who admit that the clergy 
 may make some sort of special declaration of GOD'S acceptance 
 of individuals, for their comfort ; and, so far, approach the 
 Catholic doctrine of absolution. They say, indeed, what is 
 quite true, that " no formula of absolution is recorded " from 
 primitive times. 1 And they would prefer that any form to be 
 used now should be precatory 2 which is, again, reasonable 
 enough but they do not insist any longer on confining 
 everything to the pulpit. 
 
 With this degree of agreement we ought, perhaps, to be 
 content. At any rate we must be very grateful for it as far 
 as it goes. Objections to the indicative form one can under- 
 stand, because that is a plain, unmistakable assertion of 
 sacerdotal power. To those of us who believe the full doctrine, 
 " Absolve " has the farther advantage of directing attention to 
 
 1 Dr. Mason, at the Fulham Conference, quoted in the Ch. Quarterly, 
 Jan., 1903. 
 
 2 So does even Morinus (De Pan. lib. viii. 8), who remarks on the 
 avoidance of the indicative " I absolve " by CHRIST Himself: " Quod ea 
 Christus, quamquam possit, uti noluerit, sed humilius dixerit, Remittuntur 
 tibi peccata tua. Fides tua te salvam fecit."
 
 Objections Considered. 175 
 
 Him who is the source of sacerdotal power. " By His 
 authority committed unto me, I absolve : " it is the great High 
 Priest who seems rather to be speaking, as when the word of 
 forgiveness fell from His lips in Galilee of old. On the other 
 hand, the precatory form is not merely primitive, but was used 
 down to the twelfth century, and, as some say, by S. Bernard. 1 
 The only fear, if that were revived, would be of trusting too 
 much to the personal piety and fervour of the precator. One 
 has thought, sometimes, that, where the matter of a confession 
 was not of the gravest, there might be no harm in substituting 
 the form of Absolution from the Communion Office. There is 
 no obligation to use the other except in visitation of the sick. 2 
 
 We seem at last to have reached something like substantial 
 ground of agreement. It was observed in Chap. vi. that, while 
 forgiveness is ever ready for those who beseech GOD with true 
 contrite hearts, many persons will desire outward assurance 
 that their past is blotted out. But that desire leads naturally 
 to the acceptance of absolution ; this being the plainest and 
 most authoritative assurance that can be had within the Church 
 of GOD. Viewed in that light, we have an opinion in favour of 
 absolution which enjoys a very large Anglican consent. For 
 instance, both Hooker and Jeremy Taylor accept it in 
 that sense. Both Hooker and Jeremy Taylor (very like some 
 modern Evangelicals) approve of such a message of peace 
 being uttered for the consolation of unquiet consciences. 
 Hooker is satisfied that we have " first, the promises of GOD 
 for pardon generally unto all offenders penitent ; " next, may 
 have " the unfallible testimony of a good conscience." But if 
 we have, in addition, " the sentence of GOD'S appointed officer 
 and vicegerent to approve with unpartial judgment the quality 
 of that we have done," then, we " may rest ourselves very well 
 assured touching GOD'S most merciful pardon and grace." 3 
 
 1 See S. Bernard, Liber ad Sororem, 27 : " Soror mihi in Cbristo 
 dilecta, Deus misereatur tui, et dimittat tibi omnia peccata tua: Deus 
 retribuat tibi indulgentiam tuorum delictorum, Deus indulgeat tibi 
 quicquid peccasti, Deus te lavet ab omni peccato." Eastern forms are 
 still precatory, except the Armenian. 
 
 2 Since, of course, we are not bound by the 1549 Prayer Book. 
 
 3 Hooker, book vi. chap. vi. 5.
 
 176 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 Jeremy Taylor has the same thought : " Because our 
 repentances are always imperfect, and he who hates his sin 
 with the greatest detestation, may suspect his sorrow, and be 
 melancholy, fearful, and scrupulous ; if the minister of holy 
 things shall think fit to pronounce absolution that is, to 
 declare that he believes him to be a true penitent and in the 
 state of grace, it must needs add much comfort to him, and 
 hope of pardon, not only upon the confidence of his wisdom 
 and spiritual learning, but even from the prayers of the holy 
 man, and the solemnity of his ministration." 1 The same idea 
 is apparent in Bishop Wilson of Sodor and Man, who says, 
 " Our Church asserts, what is most true, that CHRIST'S 
 ministers have a special commission, which other believers have 
 not, authoritatively to declare this absolution, for the comfort 
 of true penitents ; which absolution, if duly dispensed, will 
 have a real effect from the promise of CHRIST." 2 Even 
 Dr. Pusey puts this aspect somewhat prominently forward : 
 " Consciences are burdened. There is a provision on the part 
 of GOD, in His Church, to relieve them. They wish to be, and 
 to know that they are, in a state of grace. They feel that they 
 cannot set themselves free to serve GOD. They look for some 
 act out of themselves . . . something to sever between past 
 and future, that they may begin anew. By His absolving 
 sentence, GOD does efface the past" 3 
 
 One ought to admit that this view is in close agreement 
 with the language of our Prayer Book ; where the benefit of 
 absolution is said to be for those who cannot quiet their 
 consciences by their own efforts, and " require further comfort 
 or counsel." Wherefore we should rejoice, feeling that we are 
 able to have so much in common with good men who in other 
 ways might reckon themselves our opponents. For who can 
 doubt that this was sent to be a ministry of comfort ; coming 
 as it does from that sweet Saviour whose invitation we know 
 so well " Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy- 
 laden, and I will give you rest ? " 
 
 1 Jer. Taylor's Doctr. of Repentance, chap. x. sect. 4. 
 
 2 Bishop Wilson's Sacra Privata : " Thursday Meditations." 
 
 3 Dr. Pusey's Sermon, Entire Absolution of the Penitent.
 
 Objections Considered. 177 
 
 So far, then, well. But yet it may be right to show in 
 what respect the view is inadequate. Let the priest be a " son 
 of consolation " by all means ; but the consolation will be of 
 little use alone. It must have something stronger than itself to 
 rest on. Imagine first the case of persons approaching their 
 clergyman with the one aim of being soothed and quieted. 
 Are not such persons " weak and timorous souls," as Hooker 
 called them ? Would it not be much better for them to 
 dispense with a soothing process which will make them weaker 
 and more dependent, the oftener they resort to it ? As to any 
 useful effect other than soothing, absolution (according to the 
 Protestant theory) has none. "If the sinner be not penitent, 
 the priest cannot pardon him ; if he be penitent, GOD will 
 pardon him, whether the priest does or no." 1 If the priest 
 does venture to say, " I absolve thee," he speaks altogether in 
 vain, unless forgiveness has been already granted, established, 
 and finished, in heaven. 
 
 One can easily see how, at this rate, a Protestant's 
 acceptance of the ministerial pardon must soon cease to be 
 cordial. If weak Christians still persist in asking for such a 
 remedy, they must have their request granted ; but it will do 
 them no good when they have got it. On the whole, the 
 comfortable view very decidedly fails. Kind hearts will always 
 have loving words to bestow on the unhappy ; and it is quite 
 possible to be kind without doing injury to prudence and self- 
 reliance, or as one should say rather reliance by faith on a 
 Divine Comforter. But that is not to adhere to the original 
 institution of JESUS CHRIST, which we are now considering. 
 Whatever else absolution was meant for, its primary intention 
 was to renew the life of grace in souls once regenerate, 
 afterwards fallen from the grace of their baptism. It was a 
 gift of the HOLY GHOST from the risen LORD. Entirely 
 through failing to observe this, famous writers like Jeremy 
 Taylor have reduced a great means of grace to a level with the 
 " weak and beggarly elements ; " and have been guilty of the 
 absurdity of reversing the order, as if our LORD had said, 
 " Whatsoever hath been loosed in heaven ye shall loose or 
 1 Jer. Taylor's Doctr. of Repentance, chap. x.
 
 178 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 declare to be loosed on earth." Of course, if there were 
 nothing more in absolution than a good man's consoling 
 promise, it could only be given thus conditionally. " I assure 
 you that GOD has forgiven your sins, if you repented and 
 believed, trusting to the merit of CHRIST'S atonement." But 
 let us now hear Father Benson 1 : 
 
 " The ministers of the Church, acting in their Pentecostal 
 power, act with an infallible result. There is a co-operation of 
 the HOLY GHOST with the work of the priest. 3 The absolution 
 may be rightly or wrongly administered or accepted, but the 
 co-operation of the HOLY GHOST, lifting up the soul out of 
 a state of death into a state of life, is what cannot fail. The 
 gift is given, though a man puts himself into a state of 
 incapacity for receiving it. The ministrations of the Church, 
 the Body of CHRIST, are the real acts of our LORD JESUS 
 CHRIST. And this is sacramental forgiveness." 
 
 This is the real reason why the clergy are bound to offer 
 absolution to those who truly repent. Spiritual consolation is 
 but a secondary benefit, even if desired. Some may not desire 
 it at all, or prefer to seek it for themselves in the written 
 Gospel, in pious books, or through the intercession of saints 
 reigning with CHRIST.S But when souls have been cut off 
 
 1 Father Benson's speech at the Fulham Conference ; quoted from an 
 article in the Church Quarterly. 
 
 3 Compare S. Ambr. De Spir. Sancto, lib. iii. cap. xviii. : " Videamus 
 utrum peccata donet Spiritus. Sed hie dubitari non potest, cum ipse 
 Dominus dixerit, Accipite Spiritum Sanctum : quorum remiseritis peccata, 
 remissa erunt. Ecce quia per Spiritum Sanctum peccata donantur. 
 Homines autem in remissionem peccatorum ministerium suum exhibent, 
 non jus alicujus potestatis exercent. Neque enim in suo, sed in Patris et 
 Filii et Spiritus Sancti nomine peccata dimittunt. Isti rogant, Divinitas 
 donat : humanum enim obsequium, sed munificentia supernae est 
 potestatis." Elsewhere, commenting on the prodigal son, S. Ambrose 
 describes how sins are forgiven in the Church before the Eucharistic 
 Feast is made ready, and compares the ring, placed on the prodigal's 
 hand, to that " Sancti Spiritus signaculum " which would not be wanting 
 to the Church's pardon. 
 
 3 To some minds the Bible is everything, for comfort ; others depend 
 much more on a vivid realisation of the communion of saints. The 
 Tyrolese or Italian peasant turns to his patron-saint to help him in every 
 difficulty. Surely one may regard both of these ways as minor helps of 
 great value. The patience of a spirit much tried by affliction, doubt, or
 
 Objections Considered. 179 
 
 from the unity of CHRIST'S Body by deadly sin, it is right 
 that they should be offered restoration to their lost condition, 
 or, as we may even say, re-creation, by the LORD the life-giver, 1 
 if any means exists for providing this. And a means does 
 exist, in the Sacrament of Penitence. 
 
 Surely we may say, now, without hesitation, the Sacrament. 
 Even Luther allowed it that dignity. 2 Yet, in case any should 
 still be doubtful about this (as Luther was afterwards, because 
 of the uncertainty of the form or outward sign), we will call it, 
 instead, a means of grace of CHRIST'S ordaining ; in which, 
 while confession is made with the lips on one side, and a 
 sentence of remission pronounced on the other, there is at the 
 same time present the power of GOD the HOLY GHOST, to 
 quicken and heal the penitent, and to restore him to his place 
 in the Kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 This cannot be administered lightly. 3 It is the virtue of 
 
 suspense, must depend greatly on his having recourse to that " comfort 
 of the Scriptures " in which is our hope. The faith of a dying Christian 
 has been sustained many a time by thoughts of the loving protection of 
 S. Joseph, or the blessed Mother of GOD. Yet these helps are not 
 supersessors of the Church's sacraments ; and the authorised sacra- 
 mental channels are not merely of pardon for sins, but of comfort for 
 the weary and heavy-laden. Comfort, however, is more widely desired, 
 though it be of less vital necessity than forgiveness ; and a larger choice 
 of means is permitted to those who seek it for their own relief. 
 
 1 Compare Bishop Andrewes' Greek Devotions : O.TTO rov Ilve^aros rty 
 Trvorjv \af3fiv rrjs x^P' TOS ffurftpiov. 
 
 2 See Luther's Primary Works (Dean Wace's edition), p. 365. Surely, 
 one may recognise the sacramental character of the penitence ordained 
 by CHRIST, without assenting to the Tridentine anathema against those 
 who say that the sacraments of the new law are " fewer or more than 
 seven." (See Mr. Drury's Confession and Absolution, p. 94). Perhaps 
 one may think it most wise to accept the number seven, because that has 
 now for many centuries been approved by the judgment of most of 
 Catholic Christendom ; while our own Article xxv. is, at least, patient of 
 interpretation in the same sense. But we might call Penitence a sacra- 
 ment, and make it the third, with Baptism and Holy Communion ; thus, 
 if we chose, keeping ourselves in company with Luther, Melancthon, and 
 the Confession of Augsburg. How many other sacraments there may be 
 besides, is not exactly the point. The three which have been given for 
 the conquest and destruction of sin are Baptism, Penitence, and Holy 
 Communion. 
 
 3 " Illis, qui post baptismum se in peccati servitutem et daemonis 
 potestatem tradiderant, Deus hoc vitse remedium contulit." (Condi. 
 Trident. Sess. xiv. chap. i).
 
 180 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 CHRIST'S Resurrection 1 put forth upon those who have 
 " destroyed themselves " 2 by a wilful rebellion against GOD. 
 For such, according to the Church's belief from primitive times 
 and throughout the ages, it is the one right and proper way of 
 return. But, whereas the Roman Church makes this not only 
 a sacrament, but of obligation for all her children, we stop 
 short of enforcing, and are perhaps wiser in that we are content 
 to recommend. Its absolute necessity cannot be proved by that 
 text which they adduce, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
 perish ; " 3 nor do they themselves deny that true contrition 
 suffices to obtain mercy from the all-merciful FATHER. Then, 
 too, how different are the terms of our LORD'S commission in 
 this case, from what He said of the two greatest sacraments ! 
 " Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of 
 GOD." " Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink 
 His Blood, ye have not life in yourselves." Whereas here it is, 
 only, "If ye should remit the sins of any, they are remitted unto 
 them." There is no use in exaggeration. When every fair ex- 
 ception or modification has been allowed, there still remains a 
 charge from the risen CHRIST, which is to endure through all 
 time : most solemn to those who are its ministers, most holy 
 and blessed to all who receive it in humble faith. 
 
 1 The doctrine of renewal or revival, effected through Absolution by 
 the power of the risen Saviour, is very clearly expressed in our Office for 
 the Visitation of the Sick. Immediately after the form of remission, the 
 priest is instructed to use a collect, the object of which is, of course, to 
 increase the disposition of the penitent to receive benefit from the pardon 
 just pronounced in his favour. Here, then, as one might have expected, 
 is found a petition for the revival of spiritual energies : " Renew in him, 
 most loving FATHER, whatsoever hath been decayed by the fraud and 
 malice of the devil, or by his own carnal will and frailness." 
 
 2 Compare Hosea xiii. 9 : "It is thy destruction, O Israel, that thou 
 art against Me, against thy help." 
 
 3 " Nisi poenitentiam habueritis " (Vulg.). See the Tridentine Cate- 
 chism (chap. v. 20). There is nothing here to show that our LORD'S 
 intention was to warn of any but a temporal punishment (" omnes 
 similiter peribitis ") : so that the text does not seem altogether well 
 chosen. Besides, even if eternal death were threatened, one could 
 hardly say for certain whether He meant to exclude all methods of 
 repentance except that by confession and absolution. For the need of 
 repentance in some shape, many other texts might be quoted, as S. Matt, 
 iii. 8-10 : xviii. 3; Rom. vi. 15-23. The difficulty is to find one which 
 restricts repentance to the sacramental channel.
 
 Objections Considered. 181 
 
 The following, from Andrewes' Sermon on the Power of 
 Absolution, is appropriate here: 
 
 " As by committing this power GOD doth not deprive or 
 bereave Himself of it, for there is a Remittuntur still, and that 
 chief, sovereign, and absolute; so, on the other side, where 
 GOD proceedeth by the Church's act as ordinarily He doth, it 
 being His own ordinance ; there, whosoever will be partaker of 
 the Church's act must be partaker of it by the apostles' means ; 
 there doth Remiseritis concur in his own order and place, and 
 there runneth still a correspondence between both. There 
 have they their parts in this work, and cannot be excluded : 
 no more in this than in the other acts and parts of their 
 function. And to exclude them is, after a sort, to wring the 
 keys out of their hands to whom CHRIST hath given them, to 
 cancel and make void this clause of Remiseritis, as if it were 
 no part of the sentence ; to account of all this solemn sending 
 and inspiring as if it were an idle and fruitless ceremony ; 
 which if it may not be admitted, then sure it is they have 
 their part and concurrence in this work, as in the rest of the 
 ' ministry of reconciliation.' " 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VIII. 
 On the Penitential Teaching of S. Chrysostom. 
 
 [Of modern writers on S. Chrysostom, consult Newman's Historical 
 Sketches, fiean Stephens' Life of the Saint, and the second volume of 
 Bright's Age of the Fathers.] 
 
 S. CHRYSOSTOM is sometimes quoted, and relied upon in argument, as an 
 authority adverse to sacramental confession. It will be no waste of 
 labour if we devote a short time to the consideration of this question. 
 
 There is, probably, not one of the Fathers of the famous fourth 
 century so universally admired as S. Chrysostom. The wonderful charm 
 of his personal character adds to the immense impression created by his 
 writings, so Scriptural, so eloquent, so full of ardent love to GOD 
 and man. There is much, too, in his books of a kind to make 
 him especially popular with Protestants. Not that his religion has 
 any great affinity with Calvinism. But he is evangelical in the best 
 sense, appealing much to individual responsibility, exhorting to faith and 
 good works, and by no means spending all his strength on sacraments
 
 1 82 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 and ordinances. Added to which, his joyful and hopeful spirit, not 
 depressed by persecution, nor obscured by that hatred and horror of sin 
 which in him were most intense, has rendered this illustrious Father 
 beloved, wherever earnest people can be found, of whatever school, who 
 are striving to " make their calling and election sure " after a saintly 
 fashion. 
 
 The best Protestants, however, have tried to claim him for their 
 exclusive property. There they are at fault ; for S. Chrysostom is an 
 eminently Catholic writer, and what we find in his books are the things 
 which make up the sum of Catholic belief. No exceptions are to be 
 allowed in his case : l he did not use incautious expressions on the Sacred 
 Passion, like S. Hilary, nor, like even the great Augustine, propound a 
 peculiar view of predestination and final perseverance. Thus the 
 attempts made to secure his support for rejection of some Catholic 
 doctrines have not met with conspicuous success. For instance, 
 S. Chrysostom was an enthusiastic venerator of saints and martyrs ; 
 which, in itself, would render the supposition most unlikely that he lacked 
 respect for Blessed Mary. What he does say is, that her maternal pride 
 in her Divine SON at first needed His correction, 2 and that He thus led 
 her up irpbs rb $-J/os, to the height that He intended for her. He may 
 have little to tell of the prerogatives of the holy Theotokos, but we should 
 remember that such reserve is common to the Fathers before the Council 
 of Ephesus. As Newman explains, " It would seem as if, till our LORD'S 
 glory called for it, it required an effort for the reverent devotion of 
 the Church to speak much about her, or to make her the subject of 
 popular preaching ; but when by her manifestation a right faith in her 
 Divine SON was to be secured, then the Church was to be guided in a 
 contrary course." 3 
 
 Again, a great deal has been said about S. Chrysostom's Eucharistic 
 position ; some trying to make him almost a forerunner of Zwinglianism, 
 because, at the end of a most eloquent passage 4 in which he had spoken 
 of the Church's one holy Sacrifice which our High Priest offers, and we 
 
 with Him he adds, fj.ai\\ov 5t dvdfj.vr)<riv pya6[J.f6a. 0vffias. By this last 
 
 clause, which some translate, " Or rather, we celebrate a memorial of a 
 sacrifice," he is thought to have contradicted what went before, retracting 
 his assertion that there is a true sacrifice for Christians in the Eucharist. 
 So far from it, S. Chrysostom, by his jj.3.\\ov St, strengthens his previous 
 
 1 His view of the words ffuOfoeTai J>s Sia irvp6s, and the whole passage, 
 (i Cor. iii. 10-16), is peculiar, and probably mistaken: yet it does not 
 contravene any Catholic belief. 
 
 2 S. Chrys. (Horn. xxi. in S. Joann.) He ventures to suggest as 
 possible, that she desired to make herself glorious (\ajj.irp6rfpav) through 
 her Divine SON. 
 
 3 Newman's S. Athanasius, vol. ii., p. 208. 
 
 4 Horn. xvii. on the Hebrews (chap. x.).
 
 Objections Considered. 183 
 
 statement : " Nay more, we perform the Memorial of the Sacrifice (of 
 Calvary)." Our Sacrifice (he means), excels the Jewish, not merely by 
 being always one and the same, but because it fulfills the Saviour's 
 command, " Do this for the Memorial of Me." It is His memorial, one 
 with that oblation of Himself, which it commemorates. 1 This is the 
 probable meaning of the passage in question. What is more certain is, 
 that the saint's doctrine of the Holy Eucharist is sacrificial elsewhere, 2 to 
 such an extent that, if he had intended otherwise in this place, he would 
 have belied the whole tenour of his teaching. 
 
 Nor is there anything really exceptional, or un-Catholic, in what he 
 has given to the Church on the subject of penitence. 3 To understand 
 S. Chrysostom's doctrine, one should first read his words on Absolution, 
 in the third book De Sacerdotio. " What great honour the grace of the 
 Spirit has vouchsafed to priests ! since by their agency these [rites] are 
 celebrated, and others, nowise inferior to these, both in respect of our 
 dignity and of our salvation. For men, dwelling on earth, are entrusted 
 with things to be administered in Heaven, and have received an authority 
 which GOD has not given to angels or archangels. For it has not been 
 said to them, ' Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth,' etc. Those indeed 
 who rule on earth have authority to bind, but only bodies : but this bind- 
 ing [by the priest] touches the soul itself, and transcends the heavens. 
 And what priests do here below, GOD ratifies above ; and the sentence of 
 the servants is confirmed by the Master. For indeed what is it but all 
 manner of power over heavenly things which He has given them, when 
 he says, ' Whose sins ye remit,' etc. ? What authority could be greater 
 
 1 The words which stand just before are most explicit : tKeivrjv 
 
 Trpocr^po/uLev KO.I vvv, TTJV r6re re irpo<revex0ei<rav, TTJV avaXtarov. (It is fair to add, 
 
 that S. Chrysostom had made no allusion to the Eucharistic Sacrifice in 
 his Homily on the very similar passage, Heb. vii. 23, etc.) 
 
 2 See, for instance, De Sacerdot. iii. 4 ; and the famous passage in De 
 Prodit Jiida, Horn. i. 6 : Qvcrla, vpoatp-xri (J>P<.KTTJ KO.I ayig.. Indeed he con- 
 stantly speaks in this way, of the " awful sacrifice," or " the sacrifice which 
 angels view with awe ; " always referring to that which is offered on the 
 earthly altar. (See his 24th Homily on i Corinthians, or third on the 
 Ephesians.) 
 
 3 It is curious that, while some make a Protestant of S. Chrysostom, 
 Bishop Sparrow chose him to be his one great authority for the Catholic 
 doctrine. " Is not this Popery ? . . . Ask S. Chrysostom, and hear what 
 he saith, in his fifth Homily upon those words of Isaiah, ' I saw the LORD 
 sitting upon a throne . . .' Words so clear for the judiciary formal 
 Absolution of the Priest, as nothing can be said more plain." (From a 
 Sermon, A.D. 1637, quoted by Pusey, in his Preface to Gaume's Manual.) 
 [The words referred to are probably these: 6 K/HTTJS tv ry yrj Ka9r}Tai, 6 
 dea">r6TT]s Vercu r<j> dov\<fi, /ecu &irep &v o5ro? K&ra Kptvet, ravra, tKelvos &vb) Kvpot. 
 KO! /X&TOS TOV 0eoO teal TT/S T&V avOpdiruv (pvcreus ^(TTijKev 6 iepet/s, T&S ticeWev TL/J.O.S 
 KO.Ta.ywv Trpos T/;Aas, Kai ray trap TJ/iwy iKCTrjplas dvayuv ^Kel, 6pyi6fj.evoj> avrov rfj 
 
 v (pvffei. (Hom. V. I.)
 
 184 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 than this? 'The FATHER hath committed all judgment to the SON.' 
 But here I see it all put into the hands of these men, by the SON." 
 
 With regard to this passage we should observe, that it agrees entirely 
 with the received doctrine of the Church ; that its strong and fervent 
 language shows the subject to have been one on which the saint had very 
 deep conviction ; and that it is not an insulated testimony, but may be 
 compared with what he wrote (later, and in the maturity of his power,) 
 when commenting on Isaiah vi., S. Matt, xvi., and S. John xx. Next, let 
 us note that he ascribes to priests the power to execute judgment ; which 
 could only be if the facts were made known upon which they were to 
 judge. So that this goes to prove, (even more than the natural construc- 
 tion to be placed on his quotations from the upper room,) that he took 
 confession of sins for the preliminary of absolution. (What Jewel put 
 forth against this, in his answers to Harding, is not entitled to much 
 respect. His flippant tone is in itself damaging to the force of his argu- 
 ment.) x 
 
 Yet there is one considerable difficulty as regards S. Chrysostom's 
 intention. What are we to make of his constant habit of urging penitents 
 to speak only to GOD, and not to an audience of their fellow-servants? 2 The 
 public acknowledgment is evidently what he most deprecates, made as it 
 might be before a crowd of hard, unfeeling, and reproachful hearers. That 
 seemed to him like making a " spectacle " of grief which should be sacred, 
 and his tender compassionate spirit revolted from it. The public 
 Homologesis had been useful in its day, but S. Chrysostom was (most 
 likely) against its continuance, both at Antioch, and afterwards at Con- 
 stantinople. 3 Little as he could have had in common with his predecessor 
 in the patriarchate, he probably thought that Nectarius had done right to 
 abolish the penitentiary's office, and a discipline which had been liable to 
 abuse. On the other hand, he had the utmost faith in private prayer, and 
 knew the blessedness of approaching the GOD of mercy by direct supplica- 
 tion. Like S. Augustine, he insisted much on the efficacy of the LORD'S 
 Prayer within the family of GOD, if charity and forgiveness of injuries 
 went with the petition for pardon. 
 
 There is no difficulty in all this. But it certainly is strange, that one 
 who had written so earnestly on Absolution, should so seldom allude to 
 confession before the minister of Absolution. One explanation may be, 
 that in those days the custom was for the latter not to be given till after 
 the expiration of a term of penitential exercises ; this rule being observed 
 even when no public penance was enjoined. So that the Fathers 
 
 1 See Jewel's Works, vol. iv. p. 488. Jewel is yet a favourite authority 
 with Evangelical divines much better than himself : and he especially, in 
 his day, distinguished himself by efforts to capture S. Chrysostom. 
 
 2 See S. Chrysostom's Works : De Incomprehens. Dei Natura, v. 7 : De 
 Lazaroy cone. iv. 4 : De Pcenitentia, Horn. ii. and iv. : In Hebraos, Horn. ix. 
 and xxxi. 3 See, however, p. 186, note 2.
 
 Objections Considered. 185 
 
 mention confession nearly always in connection with the satisfaction, 
 which came next ; and not with the forgiveness of sins. Then, also, we 
 must take into account the peculiar gifts of this great orator, which 
 inclined him to move his hearers by the most direct appeals, 1 and to urge 
 them to a conversion which could only be the work of their own wills 
 not of the priest for them. Again, S. Chrysostom addressed himself in 
 preaching, not to souls separated from the Church by grievous falls, but 
 to his ordinary congregation. Nearly everything of this kind that he 
 wrote is contained in Homilies, intended rather for an inner circle of 
 hearers, although outsiders might be present. Having that intention, his 
 omitting the subject of sacramental confession would be quite in accord 
 with what we find in other Fathers, e.g., in the discourses of S. Leo. 
 
 But has S. Chrysostom nothing to say about the priest's business with 
 the fallen ? Not quite so. For there is, first, in one of his Byzantine 
 Homilies, 2 a tolerably full answer to the question, What to do for those 
 who have sinned grievously after baptism, and would now repent ? In 
 the encouragement which he gives to such, he delights to re-echo the 
 tender love of S. Paul towards the "little children, of whom I am again in 
 travail till CHRIST be formed in you." But he says that they must go to 
 the root and foundation (Trvd^va) of the evil that they have done, and, as 
 a first and most necessary step, must make confession of their faults. 3 
 This is excellent, but there is no direct mention of CHRIST'S minister: we 
 must search again. Our next quotation shall be from the second of his 
 penitential homilies, 4 where, though the insistence is on confessing directly 
 to GOD, he introduces the subject by asking, " Why do not we come day 
 by day to the Church, to embrace penitence ? " Still, his meaning is not 
 made perfectly plain. From whose hand is penitence to be accepted ? 
 He does not tell us. So too in a Homily on the fourth chapter of S. John, 5 
 where he exhorts his hearers to a courageous repentance by the example 
 of the Samaritan woman, we infer only for he never states this clearly 
 that their trial of courage would be in letting neighbours know that 
 they had been to a priest. But now, on the other hand, Socrates tells 
 how this great man was reproached by the Novatianists, because 
 " Whereas by the Synod of bishops repentance was accepted but once 
 from those who had sinned after baptism, he did not scruple to say, 
 
 1 " He was a preacher whose primary object was to convert souls ; " 
 (Dean Stephens, Life of S. Chrysostom, p. 422). See also Bright's Age of 
 the Fathers, vol. ii. p. 35. 
 
 2 See S. Chrysostom's gth Homily on the Hebrews: (on chap. vi. 4-6). 
 
 3 Exactly the same advice is given in his Homily against the Cathari. 
 
 4 S. Chrys. (De Pcenit. Horn. ii. i). 
 
 s S. Chrys. (In S. Joann. Horn, xxxiv. 3.) He quotes 2 Cor. v. 10, and 
 contrasts that more awful publicity with this. [For the reference, I am 
 indebted to Dr. H. Lea; who, however, explains the passage with great 
 carelessness, and lack of attention to the context. (See his History of 
 Auricular Confession, vol. i., p. 180.)]
 
 1 86 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 Approach, though you may have repented a thousand times." ' " It is 
 obvious that this " approach " could not have been to the public discipline, 
 for that, of course, would not be repeated without limit (even if it had 
 not been abolished by this time in the Eastern Church :) * obvious, also, 
 that it could not be by secret prayer to GOD, for that the Novatianists 
 allowed. The approach must have been to S. Chrysostom himself, or to 
 one of his clergy, in an official capacity, but privately. And, in fact, we 
 are told that he was distinctly accused by a certain " Isaac the monk," of 
 having invited gross offenders to come to him, that he might heal them.3 
 
 Yet once again. There is at least one passage in the saint's writings 
 where we find stated, with all desirable clearness, the showing of the soul's 
 wounds on one side, and the priest healing them on the other. The 
 words occur in a Homily on Genesis.* " If he who has done these [wicked 
 things] will resolve to go to confess what he has done, and to show his 
 wound to the physician who heals but does not reproach, and to receive 
 the medicines that he has with him, and to converse with him alone, 
 unknown to any one else, and to tell everything exactly ; he will make a 
 quick recovery for himself from his fall. For the physician demands of 
 us nothing grievous or overwhelming ; only contrition of heart, com- 
 punction of mind, confession of one's error. He not only grants healing 
 of wounds, and shows us cleansed from the sins we had committed, but 
 when a man had before been weighed down with burdens innumerable, 
 he delivers him and makes him righteous." There can be no misunder- 
 standing a passage like this. The " physician " of the first sentence is 
 proved by the sequel to be no other than a priest with the keys. 
 
 On the whole, it is improbable that, in any important question of 
 religious practice, S. Chrysostom would have forsaken the broad stream 
 of Catholic consent for narrow channels and backwaters of his own 
 selection. We are perplexed by the apparent inconsistency of his advice 
 at various times. Yet inconsistency was, in him, the evidence of a large 
 heart, and generous condescension to the weakness of fallen humanity. 5 
 
 1 Socrates' History, book vi. 21. 
 
 2 There is no absolute certainty whether the public discipline ceased 
 at Constantinople when the Penitentiary's office was abolished. Dr. 
 Bright says (Age of the Fathers, vol. i. p. 528), "After the office was 
 suppressed, it was left free to Christians, as before, to open their griefs 
 to any bishop or presbyter whom they might prefer ; and if he so directed 
 them, to place themselves publicly in the ranks of penitents." Anyhow, 
 S. Chrysostom says very little about it, either at Antioch or Constan- 
 tinople. In his Homilies on the Ephesians, he describes the deacon 
 bidding " those in penitence " to depart before the communion of the 
 faithful, and observes, "All who do not partake [of communion] are in 
 penitence." 
 
 3 See the Life in the Venetian Edition, 1734; vol. xiii. p. 147. 
 
 4 See S. Chrys. (In Genes. Horn. xx. : commenting on Gen. iv.). 
 
 5 May not Jeremy Taylor, possibly, have had a similar motive for his 
 own frequent changes of front ?
 
 Objections Considered. 187 
 
 We understand it best if we remember his strong indignation against the 
 Cathari or purists of his day. 1 No ! he would be " all things to all men," 
 thus "by all means to save some." Those who preferred to come to him 
 by private confession, might do so if they would : others, whom shame 
 forbad to open their grief to any human auditor, should be encouraged 
 to ask pardon of Him "whose mercy is over all His works : " while for 
 a few, perhaps, the kindest course would still be to make them face a 
 public discipline, thus best to quiet their consciences. The inconsistency 
 of S. Chrysostom, after all, was very like the wise toleration of variety in 
 our Book of Common Prayer. 
 
 It may be useful to conclude with some short quotations from other 
 Fathers, who have marked a connection between confession and absolu- 
 tion, in sufficiently plain terms : 
 
 (1) S. Cyprian-: "I intreat you, let each confess his offence, now 
 while he who offended is still among the living ; while his confession may 
 be accepted ; while the satisfaction and remission wrought by the priests 
 are pleasing before the LORD." 
 
 (2) S. Ambroses; "Our LORD gives a very plain command, that the 
 grace of the heavenly sacrament should be poured anew on those who 
 repent with their whole heart and with open confession of their sin, 
 though guilty of some most grievous crimes." 
 
 (3) S. Jerome'*: " The priest offers his Oblation for the layman, lays 
 his hand upon him as he kneels, invokes the HOLY SPIRIT to return to 
 him, and reconciles him." (This is put into the mouth of a Luciferian, 
 yet describes the Catholic practice.) 
 
 (4) S. Innocent I.s: " It is the priest's part to judge, to attend to the 
 penitent's confession, to order his release when he has made satisfac- 
 tion." 
 
 (5) S.Augustine 6 says that a man confessing his sins is like Lazarus 
 coming forth into the light still bound : a man absolved by the Church is 
 like Lazarus loosed by the apostles. On the subject of non-sacramental 
 forgiveness, he writes like S. Chrysostom: see his Ep. cliii. (Ad Mace- 
 donium.) 
 
 (6) S. Leo T. "CHRIST JESUS, the Mediator between GOD and man, 
 delivered authority to those set over the Church, that they might give the 
 opportunity of repentance to those who confess, and afterwards, when 
 
 1 See Dean Stephens' Life of S. Chrysostom, p. 235. 
 
 2 See S. Cyprian (De Lapsis, xxix. al. xix.). 
 
 3 See S. Ambrose (De Pcenit. lib. ii., cap. iii.). 
 
 4 See S. Jerome (Contra Lucif. v. 175). 
 
 5 S. Innocent I. (Ep. ad Decent, cap. vii.). 
 
 6 S. Augustine (Serm. ccclii. 8). 
 
 ? S. Leo (Ep. cviii,Ep. clxviii. chap. ii). By precator, S. Leo evidently 
 means him who pronounced absolution ; usually the bishop, though de- 
 scribed as sacerdos.
 
 1 88 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 they were purged by satisfaction, should admit them through the gate of 
 reconciliation to sacramental communion." " It is enough that one 
 should offer his confession first to GOD, and then also to the priest, who 
 comes forward to say the prayer for those repenting." " It is enough 
 that guilty consciences should be opened to the priests alone, by secret 
 confession." 
 
 As to the sequence of the different penitential exercises, and their 
 mutual dependence, the Fathers' testimony has been much cleared of 
 obscurity by researches made in the Roman Liber Pontificalis. It is com- 
 paratively certain that in the Western Church (except in the earliest period 
 of all), confessions were made to a penitentiary priest, privately. One of 
 these was attached to each principal church, and had charge of both 
 penitents and catechumens. Both remained under his care for a 
 considerable time, and were passed through different orders or grades. 
 (May not the two, possibly, have been amalgamated sometimes ? Not, of 
 course, where the worst offences were being expiated, but wherever 
 satisfaction was being made for what S. Cyprian called peccata minora ?) 
 Then they would be presented to the bishop : the catechumens for baptism, 
 the penitents for absolution all to be in public, and at the beginning of the 
 Easter Festival. On this theory, which is Mgr. Batiffol's, 1 the paucity of 
 allusions by the Fathers to confession joined with absolution would be 
 explained by the fact that the two were not merely separated by intervals 
 of time, but administered by different persons : the confessions being 
 made secretly to the penitentiaries, while the bishops themselves always 
 absolved and in public. (In Chap, v., I thought it possible that private 
 absolution might have been resorted to as an alternative in some cases.) 
 
 1 Batiffol (Etudes sur les Origines de la Penitence, pp. 146, 147.)
 
 The Preparation of the Penitent. 189 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Preparation of the Penitent. 
 
 THOUGH not, as we believe, in the strictest sense indispensable 
 to the salvation of souls, sacramental penitence is a gift from our 
 risen LORD, to be regarded by His Church with the utmost rever- 
 ence and thankfulness. Enough has been said to determine 
 its lawful position. The time has now come to consider its use 
 in practice. The next three chapters are to be entirely practical. 
 
 Many earnest people will desire for themselves this divinely- 
 appointed means. They will respect the human agency which 
 imparts spiritual renewal through the presence of GOD the 
 HOLY GHOST. 1 What, then, are the dispositions for approach- 
 ing ? How shall priest and penitent alike profit by the ministry 
 of Absolution ? 
 
 From GOD'S side, the grace is sure, and the message of 
 peace infallible. " For in JESUS CHRIST is the Yea and the 
 Amen, how many soever be the promises of GOD." But, 
 although GOD'S word cannot be broken, the intended benefit 
 may be lost through the fault of the receiver. To those 
 baptised without the love of GOD, says S. Augustine, there is 
 neither remission of sins nor grace of a new birth, until they are 
 converted. 2 In the Holy Eucharist, "he that eateth and 
 drinketh unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of 
 the LORD." And there may be failure in the same way in the 
 use of Penitence. Indeed, the risk is more considerable here 
 
 1 We should not forget that Penitence is, like Confirmation, a lesser 
 sacrament, and in one respect inferior to Confirmation, because its 
 obligation is not so universal. Yet if Penitence was of CHRIST'S own 
 institution, comparisons of this sort are almost beside the mark. 
 
 See S. Aug. (De Ba.pt. contra Donat. lib. i. n, 12).
 
 i go The Use of Penitence. 
 
 than in other sacraments, because of the co-operation required 
 of priest with penitent. But in this chapter we shall give our 
 attention only to the latter. 
 
 First, however, let there be no misconception of the relation 
 in which that aforesaid risk stands to the duty of reception. 
 The only effect it ought to have is to increase diligence of pre- 
 paration : most certainly it should not incline any to abandon 
 the idea of coming, or persuade themselves that all the same 
 good may be had without incurring the danger. For by no other 
 means but this can we know that we have access to that opera- 
 tion of the HOLY GHOST, whereby penitent souls are raised from 
 the deadness which remains after sin committed, and restored to 
 vital union with their Saviour. To say that GOD will forgive 
 whether the priest does or no, is to ignore the characteristic 
 blessings attached, not only to this but to all sacraments 
 ordained of CHRIST. For example, there is grave danger in 
 sacrilegious communion ; but we do not argue therefore that it 
 will suffice to feed upon CHRIST by faith, without partaking of 
 the holy mysteries. 
 
 The one thing on which we should lay the utmost stress is, 
 that it is useless to go in quest of the promised pardon unless 
 we have used all diligence to prepare ourselves. Cranmer, 
 indeed, like others of the " new learning," was averse to any 
 process, or fixed rules, of repentance. " The Scripture taketh 
 Penance for a pure conversion of a sinner in heart and mind 
 from his sins unto GOD." Most true. But how can it follow, 
 that we should abolish contrition, confession, and satisfaction, 
 as Cranmer apparently would have us P 1 Should not these 
 rather be called the proper initial tests of a pure conversion ? 
 Surely the wisdom of the ancients is best, in a practical matter 
 like this. Sorrow to begin with. If a man has no deep sense 
 of dissatisfaction with the state to which his sins have reduced 
 him, it were better to leave him bound where he lies : 2 his cap- 
 tivity is not irksome, and, if you release him, he will soon wish 
 
 1 See Cranmer's Questions and Answers on the Sacraments (Works, 
 vol. ii.). Bishop Wilson of Sodor and Man has already been quoted in 
 an opposite sense : see notes to Chap. i. 
 
 - " Laqueis iniquitatis obstructus," as S. Augustine says (Ep. cliii.).
 
 The Preparation of the Penitent. 191 
 
 to go back to his prison-house. He will remember his Egypt 
 with too fond regret for any healthful conversion to be expected 
 there. Sorrow, then, first; and next, the confession which 
 proves sincerity ; and after that, to make what amends are 
 possible. All the three are presented to view in the person of 
 King David. Sorrow in remembering his ingratitude to the 
 LORD, who had " filled his cup " with the gladness of good 
 success : simple confession of the horrible crime : satisfaction 
 by patience when heavy punishment followed, as his children, 
 either dying themselves, or conspiring to slay their father, 
 caused an accumulation of grief to darken his latter years. 
 This, which gave us the Miserere, is the most famous example 
 in history an example which exhibits in firm outline a repent- 
 ance such as GOD accepts. True, " the sword should never 
 depart from his house ; " for he had given occasion to many to 
 blaspheme. But, yet, David was fully and freely forgiven ; 
 and the Divine forgiveness was so declared, as if CHRIST'S own 
 word of Absolution had been anticipated for David's sake. 
 " David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD." 
 " And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away 
 thy sin : thou shalt not die." Next to the mercy that looked 
 down from heaven, we may picture to ourselves the joy of that 
 most loyal and faithful seer, in being permitted thus to restore 
 his beloved master ; whom he had served, indeed, long and 
 well, but never before with such service as this. But then one 
 reflects, that what was a rare joy in those days is become 
 common now ; because the Church's keys are always ready, 
 and the service is rendered every day. 
 
 Now, for practical advice : 
 
 Jeremy Taylor is nearly always dependable : so are, equally, 
 some of the best Jesuits, or S. Francis de Sales. 1 Without 
 quoting at length from any, one may try to advise for the most 
 part in such a sense as they would have approved. 
 
 I. Contrition. One remembers the tears of Magdalene, or 
 
 1 See Jeremy Taylor's Guide for the Penitent, in his Golden Grove ; or 
 the eighth and tenth chapters of his Doctrine and Practice of Repentance. 
 Or consult Bourdaloue, vol. vi. (Sacrement de Penitence) ; the author of 
 Manresa, Spiritual Exercises of S. Ignatius ; or S. Francis de Sales (Devout 
 Life, chap, xviii.).
 
 192 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 of Peter, and how gracious the Saviour was to those first 
 penitents who met His eye. " The woman that was a sinner, 
 and the friend that denied Him, were the first to whom He 
 gave token of His return from the grave, to which their own 
 sins and those of others had consigned Him." 1 The Church is 
 CHRIST'S Body, and must show His own Heart's pity towards 
 the outcast and fallen. Yet Christians are not on that account 
 to be sparing of their grief, if they themselves have fallen from 
 grace. A Christian's disobedience is to be estimated by the 
 height at which he once stood. " All that is Mine is thine." 
 This is one who had put on CHRIST, had received the adoption 
 of sons, had been made a joint-heir with the Heir of all things. 
 Not merely rigorists, therefore, like Tertullian or Novatian, but 
 the Fathers with one consent held, that wilful choice of evil after 
 baptism must exclude from the Kingdom of Heaven. All would 
 agree that, if a Christian who has thus fallen desires readmission, 
 he must, indeed, " water his couch with his tears ;" " tears must 
 be his meat day and night." He must recover life, says one, 2 
 even " through destruction of the flesh." And they speak thus, 
 while at the same time rejoicing in the abundance of the Divine 
 mercy. They speak thus, although when they comment on the 
 Prodigal's return, they derive from thence a welcome for the 
 penitent, extending even to the Eucharistic Feast.s 
 
 Contrition. The only sorrow worthy of a Christian is when 
 one loves the GOD who has been offended, and, in the midst of 
 shame and grief felt on other accounts, cries out with David, 
 "Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in 
 Thy sight." If he finds his heart too hard to weep thus before 
 GOD, then, as S. Ambrose says most beautifully, JESUS Himself 
 will help him. " My eyes have no tears to wash away mine 
 offences : LORD JESUS, do Thou weep for me, as Thou didst for 
 Lazarus, and I shall be saved, and come forth to the light." 4 
 
 i From a pamphlet by the late Felicia Skene (Memoir, p. 159). 
 
 See S. Pacian (Ep. iii. 18). 
 
 3 Compare S. Ambrose (De Pan. ii. 3) : " Sicut Dominus semel pro 
 omnibus immolatus est, ita quotiescunque peccata donantur, corporis ejus 
 sacramentum sumimus." 
 
 < See S. Ambr. (De Pan. ii. 8) and the Supplementary Note to this 
 chapter.
 
 The Preparation of the Penitent. 193 
 
 It is the motive which distinguishes the perfect from the 
 imperfect sorrow. Most of the ascetic writers say, indeed, that 
 what GOD " will not despise " is a heart broken, not bruised 
 merely. But that distinction is of little value : the motive is 
 the thing really important. Not many souls attain at once to 
 sorrow for the love of GOD. Though sincerely sorry, they are 
 influenced at first by dread of disagreeable consequences to 
 themselves, whether here or hereafter. This degree of sorrow 
 has been termed attrition ; (though one would say, 1 as before, 
 that there is no great help, nor source of strength, in knowing 
 the name). As to the thing itself, has this "attrition" any value 
 before GOD ? Will imperfect sorrow for sin be accepted ? Will 
 it not be wholly ineffectual ? Is it not a fresh offence in itself, 
 if offered to the All- Holy? 
 
 We should almost think that it was, if we could agree with 
 Jeremy Taylor. 2 This, he says, is " the least and worst part of 
 repentance." " A person who comes to confess his sin because 
 he is scared, may still retain his affections towards it." He is 
 full of scorn for the idea that a soul not fully contrite can be 
 admitted to Absolution. Jeremy Taylor is generally right : but 
 not quite always. 
 
 Bull is still more violent. He calls this last doctrine " so 
 dangerous, so damnable, that it seems of itself sufficient to un- 
 christian and unchurch any society of men that shall maintain it."3 
 
 But that is hard and unjust. A man of godless habits of 
 whom it might have been truly said that " all his thoughts are, 
 There is no GOD " is not capable of full Christian sorrow at 
 the beginning of his conversion. The time is not come for him 
 to weep at JESUS' feet, nor to hate his sin like the author of the 
 fifty-first psalm. One proof of sincerity he is capable of. If he 
 forsakes his sin, he lays a good and solid foundation ; if he goes 
 on and confesses it, there is much likelihood that in the act of 
 accusing himself he will receive that grace of contrition which 
 he lacked before. Thus the teaching of the Council of Trent is 
 
 1 I say so here, because the word is, for some reason, most unpopular 
 with Evangelicals. 
 
 2 See Jeremy Taylor's Doctr. and Pract. of Rep., chap. x. sect. 5. 
 
 3 See Bull's Sermon on Works of Righteousness, p. 8. 
 
 o
 
 ig4 The U sc f Penitence. 
 
 not " dangerous," but eminently wholesome and charitable. 
 " To love GOD above all things," as they teach, " is the highest 
 stage in repentance, and the mark of the perfect contrition of 
 GOD'S children. This stage is not reached immediately by most 
 penitents ; but if they honestly forsake their sins and make con- 
 fession, they are not to be accounted hypocrites, but may receive 
 absolution : their honest confession of itself leading them on to 
 the perfect contrition." Pcenitens adjutus viam sibi ad justitiam 
 parat? An imperfect contrition cannot be altogether void of 
 charity, being rather a true gift of GOD and an impulse from 
 the HOLY SPIRIT. And S. Chrysostom says of " fear proceed- 
 ing from the wrath of GOD," that it is the "mother of tranquility, 
 and foundation of security." 2 
 
 Nevertheless, this first stage is not for a man to rest in. 
 " Perfect love casteth out fear." They who " shall assure their 
 hearts before GOD, whereinsoever our heart condemn us," are the 
 penitents who "love in deed and truth." (i S. John iii. 18, 19.) 
 
 Contrition, then, is an act of the will, hating and renouncing 
 sin, because GOD is loved. We know too well that that does 
 not always follow, even from the clearest perception of a sin's 
 true nature. When the question is of a familiar fault long 
 indulged, a man may be convinced in argument many times, 
 before he can prevail upon himself to take the decisive step. 
 GOD alone is able to bend the reluctant will. " Turn Thou us 
 unto Thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned." 3 And yet the 
 prayers of Christians, " in the body or out of the body," may 
 avail much for the conversion of their brethren. The tradition 
 is constant, that S. Paul ceased to persecute, through the inter- 
 cession of the martyr Stephen. 
 
 But however, there must be an act of the will. The best 
 writers say, also, that a worthy sorrow for sin is proved by 
 rejection of other sorrows. For instance, such things as losses 
 of money, friends, or near relations, will weigh lightly upon a soul 
 penetrated with the desire to mourn only for what has offended 
 
 1 Condi. Trident. Sess. xiv. can. iv. See also the Catechism of the Council 
 of Trent, part II. chap. v. qu. 8. 
 
 * See S. Chrys. in Ps. vi. 5 : ^ roio.im\ rapax^l ya\T)vtjs fffrnip tariv. 6 
 
 os ddtias vir6tit<ris. 3 Lament, v. 21.
 
 The Preparation of the Penitent. 195 
 
 GOD. The most cruel wounds to self-esteem will scarcely be 
 felt when one considers how he has " crucified the SON of GOD 
 afresh, and put Him to an open shame." 1 In other words, 
 patience and submission under earthly trials are a great part of 
 the penitent's preparation. S. Mary Magdalene had no room 
 to be annoyed by the taunts of the Pharisees. 
 
 The next point is, that contrition does not depend on the 
 feelings. That should be reassuring to a people so little senti- 
 mental as the English. Although we condemn ourselves in 
 that our tears flow faster for a friend's death than for the evil 
 that we have wrought against GOD, this may be compatible with 
 a " godly sorrow " that is far superior to other griefs. Superior 
 it is, if the solid fruit is greater, which it bears. Pain of bereave- 
 ment is quickly healed : sorrow for sin produces a long and 
 enduring change of character. Sorrow for sin is not merely 
 emotional, but goes forward with great firmness and force to the 
 forming of holy resolutions. The eyes may be quite dry, tokens 
 of agitation entirely absent ; but the indispensable thing a 
 purpose to amend our ways will be there. That is the dis- 
 position which GOD accepts and blesses. 
 
 Resolutions lead one on to speak of self-examination. 
 With the will inclined toward good, the whole man seems to be 
 won ; but the memory and understanding have also their 
 necessary share in a Christian's repentance. All the deepest 
 sorrow that good men have felt for personal unworthiness will 
 have proceeded from two causes : first, the recollection of 
 GOD'S benefits, and then of one's own baseness in making so 
 vile a return for His favours. " Though thou wast little in 
 thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of 
 Israel ? and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel. . . . 
 Wherefore, then, didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, 
 but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in 
 the sight of the LORD ? " That sort of appeal would make 
 little impression on a man like Saul. But it is very different
 
 196 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 when a humble-minded man remembers the blessings of 
 bygone days. For him, to read the book of memory is the 
 surest way to bring him to his knees, refusing to offer any 
 sacrifice but the broken heart. " The LORD turned and looked 
 upon Peter. And Peter remembered . . . and he went out, 
 and wept bitterly." 
 
 However, self-examination exercises the understanding as 
 well as the memory. We are not to search our consciences 
 " lightly, and after the manner of dissemblers with GOD." 
 On the contrary, we ask the aid of the HOLY SPIRIT, not 
 merely to remember each and all our past misdoings, but to 
 mark whatever is at the present time most displeasing to GOD, 
 and, therefore, most dangerous to future progress. Then 
 sorrow becomes definite, as we learn precisely what it is which 
 calls for our act of contrition. And resolutions are definite 
 also, bearing, as they always must, on the special sources of 
 danger. 1 The enemy has been forced to show his face : this we 
 owe to self-examination. Henceforth there can be no excuse 
 for " running uncertainly," or fighting " as one that beateth the 
 air." (We shall return to this subject in Chap, xiii.) 
 
 All should be done soberly and with prudence, relying 
 throughout on His guidance, who is " quick to discern the 
 thoughts and intents of the heart." He made these hearts of 
 ours for Himself: He alone can enlighten and turn them, 
 disposing them to truth and righteousness. Yet, Christians are 
 to " bear one another's burdens ; " and since the virtue of 
 prudence, so essential for forming resolutions, is always 
 exercised upon an uncertain event ; 2 and as, moreover, a man's 
 
 1 Compare Aristotle (Eth. Nicotn. lib. vi. 8) : ov5' ea-riv ij <f>p6vriiris T&V 
 Ka66\ov fi6vov, d\\a Sfl Kai TO. Ka.6' eVacrra yvwpifeiv. TrpaKTiKri yap, rj 5 ir/>ais 
 n-fpl TO. KO.O' ?Ka<TTa. The largest measure of <f>p6v>](ra would be attained by 
 a Christian through self-examination, aided by good spiritual advice. 
 
 * Prudence is concerned with choosing the best means to the sttmmum 
 bonuin, which consists in loving GOD above all things. (See S. Aug. De 
 Mor. Eccles. lib. i. 15.) As this is, to most of us, a remote end (and there 
 are many intervening obstacles) there is room for the office of a spiritual 
 guide, more particularly at the beginning. Of such a one S. Ambrose writes, 
 " Mentis vigore atque auctoritate prasstet, . . . exemplo et usu paratior 
 sit, praesentia solvat pericula, prospiciat futura, denuntiet imminentia, 
 . . . paratus sit non solum ad consulendum, sed etiam ad subveniendum." 
 (De Off. Ministr. lib. ii. cap. 8.)
 
 The Preparation of the Penitent. 197 
 
 heart is " deceitful " at best ; there can be nothing but wisdom 
 in availing ourselves of good advice where it may be had, both 
 to know ourselves better, and to resist temptation for the 
 future. The next chapter will be the right place to show how 
 the joint efforts of priest and penitent are often blessed, when 
 the object is to deal firmly with the sins to be renounced at 
 confession. That is still distinct from the ghostly counsel 
 bestowed on pious persons who aim at perfection. Direction, 
 as was said before, has no proper dependence on the ministry 
 of absolution ; whereas this is almost an integral part of the 
 soul's loosing. 
 
 Contrition, as we saw, is not of necessity emotional. The 
 vivacious Latin or Celtic races are not more likely to furnish 
 salutary examples of repentance, than the grave and silent 
 Anglo-Saxon. Still, emotional language is, on the whole, the 
 Scriptural language, for that sorrow which works conversion. 
 Not to be deeply moved by the thought of what one has done 
 against GOD, is a sort of apathy which agrees better with sloth 
 than amendment of life. If ever tears deserve to be shed, it is 
 for one's own wilful deadly sin. Saints had prayed that that 
 sin might not be. Angels took up arms and would have 
 repulsed the wicked thought. Nay, more, the HOLY SPIRIT 
 pleaded that such a foul disgrace might never come to pass : 
 JESUS gave His life-blood to prevent this spiritual death. If 
 we must be unemotional, let us intreat the LORD that our 
 hearts be not seared and hard. " LORD, I would grieve for 
 love of Thee that I have so often offended Thee." r 
 
 But the too prevalent carelessness makes it expedient that 
 contrition should be followed by an outspoken confession. 
 Nor should there be any difficulty in showing that confession 
 has its proper place in the penitent's preparation. 
 
 II. The question is, at this moment, wholly of those seeking 
 " the benefit of absolution " for their own souls, privately. 
 
 1 Compare the beautiful lines beginning, " O JESU CHRIST, if ought 
 there be," by Mr. Caswall, which were formerly numbered 253 in Hymns 
 Ancient and Modern. On the latest revision, these lines have disappeared; 
 and it is possible that they may be thought more suitable for use in an 
 oratory than " in the Services of the Church." But as a private act of 
 contrition, they are most precious.
 
 ig8 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 Now, if we so seek, we submit ourselves to the judgment of 
 CHRIST'S minister, whether to bind or to loose. Then, surely, 
 the things for which we desire CHRIST'S pardon must not be 
 locked up within our breasts. They must be rehearsed, as 
 S. Leo said, first in the ears of GOD, " then also to His priest." 
 The rule is inflexible, while the practical advantage is beyond 
 dispute. 
 
 A confession is the joint offering of priest and penitent. 
 In the next chapter the turn will come for pointing out 
 ways by which the former may assist the latter. At present, 
 let us rather insist that the person confessing is bound to do his 
 utmost to enable the confessor to use the keys well and wisely 
 on his behalf. This is nearly always indispensable. Contrition 
 may sometimes be evident without confession. But there is 
 generally great risk in so absolving too great to be run 
 except very rarely, and in extremis? (Ancient Canons show 
 that absolution was sometimes allowed to those who had lost 
 the use of speech, but only if their previous desire had been 
 attested by relatives.) 2 
 
 Confessions should, therefore, furnish information. What 
 S. Francis de Sales wrote against vagueness of speech is still 
 deserving of attention : " Do not make only those superfluous 
 accusations, which some make as a matter of course : ' I have 
 not loved GOD as I ought, I have not prayed with so much 
 devotion as I ought, I have not loved my neighbour as I 
 ought, I have not received the sacraments with so great 
 reverence as I ought ; ' for in saying this you will say nothing 
 
 1 Charles II. is said to have received absolution on his death-bed, 
 without confession, first from Ken, and afterwards from the Benedictine 
 Huddleston. 
 
 2 The Canons of Carthage, A.D. 398, are generally supposed ancient, 
 though it is doubtful whether they were enacted in that year, and by a 
 Synod. Among these, the y6th is as follows: "If a sick person 
 desires penance, but on the arrival of the priest can no longer speak, or 
 has lost his understanding, then those who heard his wish shall testify to 
 it, and he shall receive the penance. If it is thought that he is about to 
 die, he shall be reconciled through imposition of hands, and the Holy 
 Eucharist shall be given to him. If he lives, the witnesses before 
 mentioned shall assure him that his wish has been fulfilled, and he must 
 be placed under the penitential discipline for as long as the priest thinks 
 good." (Hefele, vol. ii. E.T. p. 416.)
 
 The Preparation of the Penitent. 199 
 
 definite which can make your confessor understand the state of 
 your conscience ; since every saint in heaven, and every man 
 on earth might say the same things, if they were to come to 
 confession." 1 On the contrary, it has been advised that divers 
 sins should be owned one by one, and called by their right 
 names ; and that, as far as possible, the number of times of 
 sinning should be specified in each case. Before GOD, indeed, 
 the memory's tribute would be too carelessly rendered without 
 this ; because the same fault committed seven times amounts 
 to seven separate offences, as surely as if we had been guilty of 
 each of the septem mortalia. But it is also almost necessary in 
 respect of the confessor, that he may judge how far any evil 
 has become habitual, and what is the strength of its hold. 
 Another rule is to mention the circumstances which produced 
 a wicked action : sometimes, too, the person against whom it 
 was done. David's guilt was enhanced both by the reputation 
 of Uriah, one of his bravest men, and because he slew him 
 " with the sword of the children of Ammon." These things 
 give a particular complexion to a crime, so that a priest cannot 
 well judge without knowing more than the bare fact. 2 
 
 Yet too much caution cannot be used in keeping to the 
 straight path : not to be discursive, and on no account to tell 
 tales of others. [Jeremy Taylor (quoted in the Appendix to 
 Chap, vii.) is excellent here.] Above all, even while explaining 
 oneself somewhat for the priest's sake, to remember the Divine 
 majesty, and speak ever into the ears of GOD. " Against Thee, 
 Thee only, have I sinned." 
 
 " Thou [O LORD] hast known my reproof, my shame, and 
 my dishonour." If one human being knows besides, he knows 
 only as he is set " in the person of CHRIST." 
 
 While most writers concur to a large extent in what they 
 advise, there has been much disagreement over the question 
 whether all faults, that are remembered, should be acknowledged, 
 
 1 See S. Francis de Sales (Devout Life, chap, xviii.). 
 
 2 See Jeremy Taylor (Doctr. and Pract. of Rep. chap. x. sect. 8): " If 
 the penitent person hath been an habitual sinner, he is to take care in 
 his confessions that the minister of religion understand the degrees . . . 
 the time of his abode in sin, the greatness of his desires, the frequency of 
 his acting."
 
 200 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 the less with the greater* Absolution is required only for the 
 greater, and although pious people are averse to considering any 
 fault of theirs as trifling, yet, after long practice in self-examin- 
 ation under the invocation of the HOLY SPIRIT, they surely 
 ought to have some power of discrimination. This is a difficult 
 point to decide. On the one hand are those real dangers which 
 beset the over-scrupulous conscience ; on the other, the import- 
 ance of preserving that lowly estimate of self which would 
 accept the full measure of blame for shortcomings. It should 
 also be remembered (on the same side of the question), that 
 beginners are hardly to be trusted to use discrimination. The 
 more deeply touched and humiliated a man may be at his first 
 conversion, the more likely it is that he will fix his attention 
 on a single fault, of late occurrence, which looks to him like 
 a monstrum horrendum, covering the whole horizon. 2 Nothing 
 is usually more difficult to such a person than to realise that 
 he owes a debt for other things, done long ago and banished 
 from memory. And yet the later transgression might not have 
 been without the earlier ; and the priest should know of both, 
 before he can take the measure of the repentance even if he 
 could forget what is due to Almighty GOD. For beginners, 
 therefore, it seems best that they should acknowledge every- 
 thing. But whether the same rule ought to apply to those 
 more experienced, is a little doubtful. So, too, as regards 
 frequency of confession, there may be excess as well as defect. 
 Although our English Prayer Book has determined nothing 
 on the subject, its tone may be taken as in favour of long 
 intervals between the times of coming. Its language does not 
 sound quite in accord with a rule of confession before each 
 communion, nor with making the first confession at eight 
 years old. This work must be done fully and carefully 
 whenever it is done : whether it should be done very often, 
 
 1 The Council of Trent advises, yet does not insist : " Venialia, 
 quamquam recte et utiliter dicantur, taceri autem citra culpam possunt." 
 
 - Giving up a single fault, however, may be the critical decision, by 
 which the whole heart is surrendered to GOD. Thus Canon T. T. Carter 
 says, alluding to S. John xiii. 10 : " The real cleansing of one part of our 
 being is the cleansing of the whole. Having the feet washed by CHRIST, 
 was to be ' clean every whit.' "
 
 The Preparation of the Penitent. 201 
 
 is not so certain. The matter of very frequent confessions 
 will be, for the most part, " holy desires," tending to " good 
 counsels " and " just works." However truthfully and humbly 
 breathed, these will not have in them the malice of deadly sin. 
 If a priest receives them, he must be careful not to number 
 such penitents among those who have " erred and strayed 
 from GOD'S ways like lost sheep." 
 
 III. There is a third and last stage of preparation. A 
 sincere penitent is moved to declare his sorrow before GOD 
 by coming to the tribunal which CHRIST founded for His 
 Church. He makes his confession, and in so doing is rilled 
 with a more lively grief for having grieved the good GOD 
 by disobedience. The state of his soul has been honestly 
 disclosed, and CHRIST'S minister judges him fit to receive 
 the grace of Absolution. This sets him free, and restores 
 him to his place in the Divine family. Whatever he had 
 forfeited by his fall is his again, now he is forgiven. He is 
 " justified by faith, has peace with GOD through our LORD 
 JESUS CHRIST, and rejoices in hope of the glory of GOD." 
 This is the heritage of the baptised, " the liberty of the glory 
 of the children of GOD." 
 
 Still, however, there remains the question of satisfaction. 
 This makes no inroad on spiritual liberty. It is not, properly, 
 the " binding " of which our Saviour spoke. 1 Those souls only 
 are bound, who are left, of their own will, in a self-chosen 
 bondage to sins which they will not forsake. Of that there 
 is no question now. But we trace satisfaction, first, as an 
 event in the order of Divine Providence : as that which was 
 ordained for fallen man at the beginning, with the words, " In 
 the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." It is evident, 
 indeed, without reference to moral theology, that, while the 
 eternal consequences of sins are done away by the repentance 
 
 1 The Council of Trent, nevertheless, ruled (Sess. xiv. Can. 8) that the 
 priest does " bind " when he chastises sins by imposing satisfactory 
 penance. " Nam claves sacerdotum non ad solvendum duntaxat, sed ad 
 ligandum concessas, etiam antiqui Patres et credunt et docent." This is 
 not quite convincing. The priest may bind, so long as a penitent remains 
 unshriven ; but surely his discretion is at an end when he has pronounced 
 absolution ? Probably, however, the " binding " intended by the Council 
 is disciplinary ; (see p. 170.) It could not be sacramental.
 
 2O2 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 which appeases the Almighty, some temporal consequences 
 remain still to be endured. 1 As Adam himself must experience 
 symptoms of mortal decay in the frame in which he had 
 transgressed, and the hands which had taken of the forbidden 
 fruit ; so we see to this day " the whole creation groaning and 
 travailing in pain," as the Apostle says. That is so, with only 
 the peccatum originis to account for it. But much more, if we 
 choose our instances from some of the actual present sins and 
 scandals. For example, sometimes the stigma of an old crime 
 remains, to hinder the kindly intentions of an entirely willing 
 heart. Sometimes, where a wife has been injured by a husband's 
 unfaithfulness, it is found impossible to restore domestic concord. 
 Sometimes nature itself seems to resent the excesses of youth, 
 and the result is a constitution permanently enfeebled. Not 
 unfrequently, a man who has once been weak suffers from 
 weakness of judgment all his life, as David did. 2 And one 
 more consequence nearly universal after sinful indulgence 
 is, that we are prone to yield to temptation, the same, or 
 even of a different kind from what overcame us at the 
 beginning. We may never again be quite morally firm. 
 
 Now such things as these are made the material of satis- 
 faction for those who truly repent. Many a time the best 
 amends that can be made are by meekly bearing a loss of 
 good for so long as GOD wills. But there are also cases in 
 which one may go to meet the loss half-way, victoriously, 
 as Zacchaeus did. If Zacchaeus had simply become a reformed 
 character, through our LORD'S visit to his house, he might 
 perhaps have been saved, and it is likely that he would have 
 had some bitter sneers to put up with, even so. But that did 
 not content him. He must make a nobler satisfaction. " Behold, 
 LORD, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have 
 wrongfully exacted ought of any man, I restore four-fold." 
 After that, there might still be very many who would remember 
 
 1 There are some excellent remarks on this in Dr. Dale's Lectures on 
 the Ephesians, pp. 57, 58. 
 
 z The following seem to be instances of a weak judgment in David, 
 in the exercise of government, after his fall: 2 Sam. xix. 13 and 29: 
 2 Sam. xxiv. 2: i Kings ii. 8, 9.
 
 The Preparation of the Penitent. 203 
 
 his cheating, and cast out his name as evil ; but he had done 
 what he could. And I believe that many in our own day, and 
 in this country, would be ready to do as much. 
 
 This, too, is, probably, the best and most natural course, 
 under the altered circumstances of modern society. Either 
 the discipline of affliction is sent, or we take punishment to 
 ourselves by voluntary choice. Either way, we are scholars 
 in a most useful school, and able soon to acknowledge, with 
 the Psalmist, " It is good for me that I have been in trouble." 
 Those upon whom GOD'S hand is laid in chastisement, learn 
 either " to be abased " or " to abound," and dispose themselves, 
 now to quietness and silence, or now, again, to some courageous 
 effort of restitution. In that spirit one can fancy S. Paul, 
 patient under misrepresentation from his countrymen, or yield- 
 ing his body to the stones at Lystra, or glorying in the Cross of 
 JESUS whom he had persecuted. But we hardly discover a 
 saint in whom these ideas were not prominent, viz., willingness 
 to suffer, a desire to expose oneself to loss for GOD and the 
 brethren, and a penitential spirit resolutely cherished. 
 
 It is obvious that we could not return to rules of satisfaction 
 after the methods of the old ecclesiastical discipline. In early 
 times, and in the Middle Ages, penal and coercive jurisdiction 
 was exercised, either directly or indirectly, by Christian bishops. 1 
 That, of course, could not be done now, and there is every 
 reason to expect that it never will again. The rulers of the 
 Church have no power by law to inflict temporal punishments. 
 
 Yet even now we are familiar with the idea that offenders 
 should be restored on condition of their promising to make 
 some reparation for their offence. That scarcely differs at all 
 from the Church's doctrine, that absolution necessitates the 
 performance of what is called a penance. Let us try to 
 
 1 See the charges brought against Basil of Ancyra, in Socrates' 
 History, book ii. chap. xlii. Also Martene, De Ritibus, lib. i. p. 2. art 6. 
 Mr. Barmby, in the Dictionary of Christian Biography, shows that S. Gregory 
 the Great was not averse to punishing severely, in cases of stubborn heresy. 
 In one of his Letters he orders idolaters, if slaves, to be beaten ; if freemen, 
 to be imprisoned. " Cruciatus saltern eos corporis ad desideratam mentis 
 valeat reducere sanitatem." (S. Greg. Ep. ix. 65.) The slaves would be 
 those employed on his own estates.
 
 204 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 understand the principle of this, and whether it is worth 
 preserving. 
 
 There are, at least, two ideas, long and widely accepted, 
 which it perpetuates. First, that there should be correspond- 
 ence between guilt and punishment. Secondly, that rules 
 of amendment should be made under submission to a spiritual 
 guide. The adaptation of penalties was very carefully con- 
 sidered of old : see, for instance, the Canons of Ancyra 
 (somewhat pitiless), 1 the Canons of S. Peter of Alexandria, 
 the Canons of Nicaea, and those written by S. Basil and 
 forwarded to S. Amphilochius. 2 According to what their 
 offence had been, penitents were then placed for a stated 
 period among the " Mourners," the " Hearers," the " Kneelers," 
 or those who were allowed to " stand with " the faithful, but 
 excluded from the Oblation.s And the rule of the Roman 
 Church is still, that satisfactions should be enjoined at the 
 time of confession, pro qualitate criminum et pcenitentium 
 facilitate. There is no thought of making punishments really 
 equivalent to sins ; 4 but, since the justice of GOD has decreed 
 that certain consequences should accrue from certain trans- 
 gressions of His holy law, the Church exhorts her children 
 not merely to practice submission, but even willingly to inflict 
 pain upon themselves, that so His wrath may be sooner 
 averted, and a curse transformed into a blessing. 
 
 " Consider," says the author of The Spiritual Combat, 
 " that if you have brought upon yourself the evil under 
 which you are suffering, you deserve to bear it ; for, in such 
 a case, every rule of justice requires you to bear patiently 
 the punishment which you yourself were the means of 
 
 1 See Hefele's History of Councils, E.T., vol. i. 199. (The Alexandrian 
 Canons were milder than those of Asia.) 
 
 * S. Amphilochius was Bishop of Iconium from A.D. 374 to about 
 395. Another reference might be given here, to an important Canon of 
 S. Gregory of Nyssa, quoted in The Greek Catechism of Nicholas Bulgaris 
 (xyth cent.) ; to the effect that " attention should be paid to forming the 
 character of the penitent : not to the period during which he should be 
 punished." 
 
 3 Svo 8t fry x<"P *poff<j)opS.s (11th Canon of Niccza). 
 
 * Rev. xviii. 7 has been quoted sometimes in favour of equivalence : but 
 how can man mete with a measure known only to GOD ? (Wis. xi. 20.)
 
 The Preparation of the Penitent. 205 
 
 inflicting. Or, if you are not to blame . . . think that 
 there are many other faults of yours for which you have 
 received no chastisement from GOD. . . . And seeing that 
 the Divine mercy has changed the punishment . . . into 
 this light affliction, ought you not to receive it willingly, or 
 even thankfully ? If the penance is a long one . . . you 
 must remember that only through the strait gate of tribu- 
 lation can one enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And if 
 it were possible to enter by an easier way, the law of love 
 would not allow you, seeing that the SON of GOD, with all 
 His friends and His members, reached that kingdom by 
 a road strewed with thorns." 1 
 
 But is there any advantage in having the measure of the 
 satisfaction fixed and determined by the priest who has heard 
 the confession ? Only, if at all, with considerable limitation. 
 For surely it is best, and agrees most with a responsibility 
 which only timorous souls would evade, that we should make 
 up our own minds as to the amends which we desire to offer. 2 
 A priest may very well impose some particular devotion as 
 a reminder of particular sins ; or he may commend abstinence 
 from certain pleasures for precaution's sake : but these would 
 hardly deserve to be called satisfaction. Any considerable 
 sacrifice is best and most sincere, when prompted by a man's 
 own conscience: if he lags behind, there is little use in 
 another's driving him to what he dislikes. He might, indeed, 
 be wise to consult a clergyman of experience before he forms 
 his resolution ; but we must remember that that is not an 
 essential part of sacramental penitence. The priest's office 
 ends when, from the confession heard, he has formed his 
 judgment on the state of the soul before him, and, according 
 to what that judgment may be, has either remitted or retained 
 the sins. 
 
 1 The Spiritual Combat, chap. xiv. 
 
 = See Jeremy Taylor (Doctr. and Pract. of Repentance , chap. x. sect. 6) : 
 " Sin must be confessed, and it must be left. . . . We have no liberty or 
 choice but in the exercise of the penal or punitive part of repentance : 
 but in that, every man is left to himself, and hath no necessity upon him, 
 unless where he hath first submitted to a spiritual guide, or is noted 
 publicly by the Church."
 
 206 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 The only thing to be added is this : 
 
 We saw the terrible danger of self-deceit, by which con- 
 trition evaporates in sentiment, and confession becomes a 
 mocking of GOD. Then, may not one deceive himself 
 afterwards, even in making satisfaction ? Perhaps the danger 
 of undue softness is not great, where sorrow for sin has been 
 true and deep. Less, indeed, when one decides for himself, 
 than when he gives himself to another to settle everything 
 for him. But we must not forget that an opposite extreme 
 is also possible. Is it an unheard of thing, that people exclude 
 themselves from earthly joys, in a way to distress their best 
 friends, if it does not also grieve the Spirit of " love and joy 
 and peace?" So the priest's intervention may be useful in 
 some cases to prevent rash ventures in self-discipline. His 
 part will then be to require that the penitent should think 
 soberly, and act discreetly a part in which he will have 
 S. Paul with him, and should not be denied the best wishes 
 of all good Christians. 
 
 Here, however, we may do well to pause. We might easily 
 be led on now to a very difficult subject, namely, the granting 
 of indulgences. That will demand for itself a small space in 
 the next chapter. But for the present let us hold our ground, 
 and insist on reasonable independence for the penitent. A priest 
 may prudently require some assurances for the future. He may 
 impose " penances," to aid recollection of perils escaped and 
 temptations likely to return. But the two essential things are 
 only contrition and confession; and these are sufficient for 
 obtaining the grace of Absolution. 
 
 It would be mere vanity to quarrel with terms of good 
 standing in Catholic literature. 1 Satisfaction has consequently 
 been retained, although to most of us it may have a sound 
 disappointing and ambiguous. To suppose that we could 
 really satisfy the Divine justice by punishing ourselves in this 
 life, would be a doctrine of merit, grateful, possibly, to the new 
 optimism of the day, which reckons all things achievable by 
 the strenuous and stout-hearted. But certainly it would not 
 
 1 The Greek Church has allowed iKavoirolrja^ to be ancient and 
 Catholic (e.g., at the Synod of Jerusalem, A.D. 1672).
 
 The Preparation of the Penitent. 207 
 
 be Christian doctrine. When the Great King " makes a 
 reckoning with His servants," the servants cannot stand on 
 equal terms with their LORD. We know of one price alone 
 given to pay every debt the precious Blood of CHRIST. 
 However, the use of this word is capable of explanation. 
 " Catholics," says Bossuet, " teach unanimously that only 
 JESUS CHRIST, who is both GOD and Man, was capable, 
 through the infinite dignity of His person, of offering to GOD 
 sufficient satisfaction for our sins. But He was able to apply 
 this satisfaction in two ways : either by granting entire 
 remission without any penalty remaining (as He does in 
 baptism), or by commuting eternal into temporal punishment 
 (as He does for those who fall back into sin after baptism). 
 From this we must not infer that JESUS CHRIST has failed 
 to make entire satisfaction for us ; but that, on the contrary, 
 having acquired an absolute right over us by the infinite price 
 He has offered for our salvation, He grants us pardon on the 
 conditions, under the laws, and with the reserves which seem 
 good to Him. . . . We should not marvel that He, who 
 showed Himself so merciful to us in baptism, should display 
 greater severity when once we have broken our holy 
 promises." * 
 
 There is nothing to object to in this explanation. But may 
 we not content ourselves with simply setting side by side the 
 two following statements ? 
 
 The first is from our Prayer Book : " CHRIST made on the 
 Cross, by His one oblation of Himself once offered, a full, 
 perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for 
 the sins of the whole world." 
 
 " The second is from Hebrews xii. : " He chasteneth us 
 for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness." 
 When S. Paul's Corinthian converts met such chastisement 
 with a godly sorrow of their own a sorrow with indignation, 
 and fear, and zeal, and longing, and avenging the apostle 
 rejoiced over them, because he saw that their sorrow would 
 bring no regret. 
 
 1 From Bossuet's Exposition de la Foi Catholique, viii. ; quoted by 
 Addis and Arnold in their [Roman] Catholic Dictionary.
 
 208 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE, ON CONTRITION. 
 
 THE idea that we may supply our defect of sorrow from the merits of 
 the tears of JESUS CHRIST, quoted above from S. Ambrose, occurs also in 
 Bishop Andrewes' Sermon on Rom. viii. 26 : 
 
 " If the spirit that quails in us do quail also in the whole Chnrch, yet 
 we have a supply from the tears which our Head, CHRIST, shed on His 
 Church, and from 'the strong cries' which He uttered to GOD His 
 FATHER 'in the days of His flesh,' by which He ceaseth not to make 
 request to GOD still for us ; so that albeit the hardness of our heart be 
 such as we cannot pray for ourselves nor the Church for us, yet we may 
 say Conqueror Tibi, Domine, lachrymis Jesu Christi." 
 
 As to the question of a reparation equivalent to the offence, it is 
 curious to compare the following lines from A Winter's Tale (Act v. 
 sc. i). The faithful courtier says to his broken-hearted master: 
 
 " Sir, you have done enough, and have perform'd 
 A saint-like sorrow ; no fault could you make 
 Which you have not redeem'd : indeed, paid down 
 More penitence than done trespass : at the last 
 Do as the Heavens have done ; forget your evil ; 
 With them, forgive yourself." 
 
 Anyone can see that what speaks here is a spirit of kind indulgence, 
 moved by the truest loyalty and deep compassion (with some slight 
 mixture of another motive). There is much that is beautiful in that 
 picture. 
 
 But the saints were not soon weary of the tasks of penitence : they 
 did not spare themselves. Of course, the scope of this book does not 
 allow one to introduce selections from their devotions, which have been 
 preserved. But there are still earnest Christians who will value such 
 a manual as The Paradise of the Christian Soul, which Dr. Pusey gave to 
 the English Church so long ago as 1847. And in the third part of the 
 Paradise will be found prayers, acts of contrition, and thoughts on 
 confession, fit to form the best of sequels to this chapter on the 
 Penitent's Preparation. (Those who object to prayers taken from 
 a foreign source, may find what will suit them in Ken's Practice of 
 Divine Love, part I.)
 
 The Preparation of the Minister. 209 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Preparation of the Minister. 
 
 LET us first fix bounds to the priest's ruling of individual 
 consciences. I am speaking now of ministering Absolution 
 to souls sincerely penitent for sins which have debarred them 
 from communion. These are not to be encouraged to submit 
 their choice, in faith and morals, for an indefinite period, to the 
 priest who heard their confession. Nor can he assume the con- 
 trol of life's journey with them, steering their way through all 
 the rocks and shoals. There may be a higher kind of direction 
 for souls aiming at perfection. They may gain much by asking 
 advice from time to time, either of a clergyman or of some 
 prudent Christian neighbour : this, if not carried to excess, is to 
 be considered as included in the " bearing one another's burdens, 
 and so fulfilling the law of CHRIST." But where there are 
 serious temptations which still beset the penitent, he must make 
 up his mind soon to face the familiar fiend for himself. Else 
 he will never " add to his faith virtue." 
 
 After that, we shall consider the great responsibility which 
 the priest has, nevertheless, in his ministering of absolution, and 
 in the immediate consequences thereof to the penitent; and think 
 what will be his best preparation for a due exercise of his office. 
 
 I. The subject of Satisfaction, very slightly handled in the 
 third section of Chap, ix., bears on the general question of 
 moral and spiritual improvement. We all know that there 
 must be improvement : " not already made perfect, I press on." 
 We know equally, that our progress will be resisted: "we wrestle 
 with the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." 
 But we know one thing more. The servant of GOD shapes his
 
 2io The Use of Penitence. 
 
 course with strict " circumspection," because he has to redeem 
 time that was misspent through his own neglect. The discipline 
 of his life depends much on what his past has been. He has to 
 turn long-standing hindrances into present helps ; and this is a 
 task full of difficulty. 
 
 A very natural thought is, therefore, that he should look out 
 for wise counsellors to guide him. Yet an abundance of human 
 counsel is neither necessary, nor expedient, for a soul's continu- 
 ance in the safe path. If S. John of the Cross says, " Those 
 who perform penances contrary to obedience are more likely to 
 make progress in vice than in virtue," 1 we must remember that 
 he has in his mind religious vows, and that the penances which he 
 condemns would be both extravagant in themselves, and opposed 
 to the wise rule which he admires. He can hardly have intended 
 to preclude all independent thinking upon one's own private 
 spiritual matters. In point of fact, we soon reach the limit of 
 good that most priests can do by their tutelage. No director 
 can carry on his supremacy so as to be wholesome, through the 
 months and years that another's probation may last. Nor can 
 the other shift his burden from his own shoulders to the priest's. 
 Henry II.'s ferocious temper was sometimes disarmed, but never 
 subdued, by the combined firmness and gentleness of S. Hugh. 
 In the long run, every man must reap as he sowed : and trust 
 in GOD must bring him victory, if he is to prevail at all. A 
 priest may indeed be blamed if he is not urgent at the proper 
 time if, like a careless bishop ordaining, he has " partaken in 
 other men's sins " by receiving one of whose contrition he was 
 not assured. And some confessions require to be tested by 
 promises of the most definite kind. For instance, to pay debts, 
 to forgive injuries, to break off a sinful intrigue. But when 
 S. Ambrose had once obtained a more merciful law from 
 Theodosius, he did not pursue his penitent with farther en- 
 croachments upon his royal discretion. 
 
 However, a priest's claim to obedience might be, and has often 
 
 been, stretched much farther. It can be pushed so as to interfere 
 
 not merely with individual liberty, but with the most necessary 
 
 relations in which men are placed one with another. Or again, 
 
 1 From Pusey's translation of Gaume, p. 231.
 
 The Preparation of the Minister. 21 1 
 
 instead of " binding heavy burdens and grievous to be borne," a 
 priest may run into the opposite extreme, and encourage all 
 sorts of laxness. This is really the chief danger. In no part 
 of the Catholic Church would confessors be very likely to order 
 wholesale renunciation of worldly goods, or that one should go 
 abroad and become a missionary, or nurse fever- cases, or re- 
 nounce home-ties and enter the religious life. Such sacrifices 
 have sometimes been actuated by the sorrow or the thankfulness 
 of souls forgiven, but they have generally been spontaneous. 
 The harm of most priestly direction lies in its tendency to laxness. 
 A mere human pity, then, shuts out that severer view of Christian 
 service, which is alone consistent with true charity. This is in- 
 creased by the familiar social intercourse which takes place at 
 other times between the two. Too soon the once courageous peni- 
 tent becomes filled with a timid self-consciousness, a desire on all 
 occasions to bargain for a lighter cross, a "form of godliness," but 
 with virtual denial of "the power thereof." One cannot speak too 
 strongly in deprecation of what may produce results like these. 
 At the same time one cannot deny that there is much truth 
 both in the doctrine of indulgences, if rightly considered, and in 
 that of transference of merit. For, first, we are all in favour of 
 some indulgence to those who deserve punishment ; ourselves, 
 certainly, not excepted. Charity could not do its part without 
 that. " The quality of mercy is not strain'd." To exact the 
 full penalty in every case might be more cruel than the rack- 
 renting of some miserably impoverished farm by a greedy Irish 
 landlord. And there is absolute necessity for conceding some- 
 thing to human weakness. People may be very sorry for their 
 sins, who yet are incapable of rigid fasting ; or who, for various 
 reasons, could not well forego the pleasures of innocent society. 
 Like Jacob's flocks, " they will die if you overdrive them." There 
 is no help for it therefore: they must be indulged. And here, too, 
 one would think, if anywhere, there is room for the director 
 to give his assistance. Even if he is easy-going, one may better 
 trust him than one's own slothful heart. He would be more 
 likely to remind us of what is the counterpart of an indulgence 
 that if we are " spared" I for the moment in this or that, the 
 1 See i Cor. vii. 28.
 
 212 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 concession must always be joined with earnest aim and prayer, 
 that we may attain ere long to a higher and purer standard. 
 
 Then, as to transference of merit. Surely it is a beautiful 
 thought that, in that great mystical union of souls, in which 
 death causes no breach (as Bishop Pearson says 1 ), " the strong 
 should bear the infirmities of the weak," in whatever way GOD 
 may permit. How much more must not GOD'S glory require, 
 than we, for the most part, are content or even able to offer ! 
 Is there not, then, some comfort in the reflection, that around 
 His Throne are some whose love is purer and bolder than ours 
 angels who always do Him service in heaven, saints who " fill 
 up that which is lacking of the afflictions of CHRIST in their 
 flesh ? " And is it not true of these latter, according to the 
 s\veet Pauline teaching, that their service, in which GOD delights, 
 is " for the Body's sake, which is the Church," and that they 
 " rejoice in their sufferings for our sake ? " That, surely, is what 
 the doctrine of transference of merit really means or ought to 
 mean. Like their Blessed Master, the saints would enrich us 
 by their poverty poverty in this world, riches in the world to 
 come. 2 
 
 The present writer has very little knowledge of the working 
 of the system of indulgences in the modern Roman Church. 
 But Dr. H. C. Lea devotes a whole huge volume to an indict- 
 ment of Rome for the easy terms on which her " pardons " are 
 issued ; 3 and perhaps others, less prejudiced than Dr. Lea, may 
 agree with him to some extent (though the standard of morals 
 is probably quite as high in that communion as elsewhere). It 
 is very possible that Rome, while insisting on the obedience of 
 
 1 Pearson on the Creed, Art. " Communion of Saints." 
 - This is supposed by some to be opposed to the absolute equality of 
 all believers, wrought through the substitution of CHRIST'S righteousness 
 for their own. But where the assistance of holy persons is thus repudiated, 
 and each soul is to exist in spiritual insulation, may there not be a possible 
 danger of errors on the future state like those of Origen ? A man lives 
 and dies without the well-founded confidence of a child of GOD. Yet he 
 has not been a great sinner, and perhaps is not utterly lost : but none of 
 his brethren have helped, or can help him at all. Shall we think, then, that 
 he is destined to be improved after death by a separate penal purification, 
 through a series of new existences ? (See Bishop Westcott's "Origenes," 
 in Diet, of Chr, Biography.) 
 
 3 See Dr. Lea's Auricular Confession, etc., vol. iii.
 
 The Preparation of the Minister. 213 
 
 her children, has laid herself open to the charge of compounding 
 for obedience by laxness of requirement to her penitents, in 
 particular, promising the utmost mildness, if they will let the 
 whole business of their satisfaction be settled for them by the 
 priest. Nor can one assent without considerable hesitation to 
 the following definition : " An indulgence is a remission valid 
 in the court of conscience and before GOD, made by application 
 of the treasure of the Church on the part of a lawful superior." 1 
 That sounds like a very large extension of priestly power, to 
 which the English Church certainly makes no claim on behalf 
 of her clergy. S. Gregory indeed desired that the clergy 
 should show an almost maternal tenderness towards those who 
 sought their counsel ; 2 and there must be countless instances in 
 which persons, who trusted to that, have led well-regulated lives, 
 passing safely over "the waves of this troublesome world." But 
 the better rule surely is that of the apostle : " Work out your 
 own salvation " (though " with fear and trembling "), " for it is 
 GOD which worketh in us both to will and to work, for His good 
 pleasure." 
 
 However, while the caution just offered cannot be called 
 unnecessary, it does not apply in the same degree to a priest's 
 first counsels to his penitents. Souls do need wise and whole- 
 some words to help them at the outset. So far as first steps 
 are concerned, every confessor has the right to advise, after and 
 beyond his conveyance of GOD'S pardon by Absolution. But if 
 he is still consulted after the beginning, he should not treat his 
 confidant too much as an invalid, nor refer back too often in his 
 own mind to the substance of the confession, which he should 
 rather forget, as GOD forgets. There will, of course, be excep- 
 tional cases. Some persons are grievously hindered by the 
 recurrence of old temptations. It is not so much their own 
 proneness to yield, that causes trouble, as the inevitable diffi- 
 culty of their situation in the world. Their way seems to lie 
 through Dante's forest, wild, rough, and tangled, and haunted 
 by wild beasts. If so, they may need for a good while longer 
 
 1 See Addis and Arnold's Cath. Diet. Art. " Indulgence." 
 
 2 " Ad pastoris mentem quasi ad matris sinum recurrant." (S. Greg. 
 Reg- Past. ii. 5.)
 
 214 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 the protection of the one earthly guide who knows them best. 
 Then, says Canon T. T. Carter, "Confession does not weaken 
 the soul, if the habit is arising from a felt need. It helps weak 
 souls that would otherwise be weak. The things which really 
 weaken are oppression and temptation. There is more weakness 
 from going on under a burden, or with perplexities or violent 
 temptations, than there is in removing them by opening the 
 grief of the soul, by sympathy and by renewed pardon and 
 grace of GOD." 1 The question, with us, was not so much of 
 confession, as of amendment ; but Mr. Carter evidently means 
 that there are some people whose confessions will always be 
 accompanied by a demand for sympathetic counsel, which their 
 feebleness requires to have often repeated. But these cases are 
 exceptional. 2 
 
 II. Let us now pass on to the question of training for the 
 ministry of Absolution. Before, in Chapter viii., an objection 
 was quoted from Jeremy Taylor, not altogether consistent with 
 his teaching in general : " If the sinner be not penitent, the 
 priest cannot pardon him ; if he be penitent, GOD will pardon 
 him, whether the priest does or no." The second half of this 
 objection misses the point ; which is that, whether pardon can 
 be had without it or not, absolution is a special means of grace 
 for recovering souls by a spiritual revival ; and we have no 
 right to assume that GOD will grant the same healthful renew- 
 ing to those who neglect His sacrament. But let us look now 
 at \htfirst of Jeremy Taylor's propositions. " If the sinner be 
 not penitent, the priest cannot pardon him." Most manifestly 
 true : But what then ? One must suppose the objection to 
 mean something like this that, in many cases, the priest will 
 pretend to pronounce pardon, nevertheless ; and that the cause 
 of his failure will be his inability to read the human heart. 
 
 Now, this part of the objection cannot be set aside quite so 
 
 i Life and Letters of T. T. Carter, p. 233. 
 
 - Jeremy Taylor says, " He that is troubled with scruples ought to rely 
 upon the judgment of a prudent guide." To do so, he says, shows a 
 " humility of understanding," which GOD will bless. Yet the over- 
 scrupulous, at least, are not always humble-minded. Very often they are 
 noted for a restless curiosity about themselves, and are as impracticable 
 as those whom S. Paul describes in 2 Tim. iii. 7.
 
 The Preparation of the Minister. 215 
 
 easily as the other. The efficacy of the sacrament, in each 
 particular case, does depend on the priest as well as the penitent. 
 If the latter be duly prepared, the former may judge him unfit : 
 or again, as Jeremy Taylor says, though the person confessing 
 be not contrite, the priest may imagine that he is ; and, which- 
 ever way, the sinner goes back unshriven the ministry of 
 absolution has failed. One may ask, How can this be ? when 
 our LORD so plainly said, " Whatsoever ye shall bind, or loose, 
 shall be bound, or loosed, in heaven." The answer is that He 
 also declared, and with equal plainness, " Verily, verily, I say 
 unto you, If ye shall ask anything of the FATHER, He will give 
 it you in My Name." But, as that promise did not preclude the 
 failure of petitions that were not according to His will, so 
 neither did this forbid ill success to the priest who uses the 
 keys without discretion. The thing that cannot fail is the 
 attachment of the grace to the Sacrament. That is always 
 unchangeable, and CHRIST will ratify what is done on earth in 
 His Name : but not if the priest judges amiss. 1 
 
 Yet one would venture to say that this risk, deeply serious 
 though it is, must be met in the fulness of Christian hope. 
 Surely, those who assume that ignorance is to be the rule, not 
 the exception, with confessors, forget what the power really is, 
 which our LORD committed to His apostles. They forget that 
 the original breathing of the HOLY GHOST by the risen CHRIST 
 was on the ministers of this grace : not till afterwards, and then 
 through their instrumentality, on the absolved. Nothing can be 
 more evident than His intention to qualify the apostles for a 
 difficult and responsible office by a very glorious gift of enlighten- 
 ment. That is the great source of confidence. A clergyman 
 who hears confessions puts himself into the hands of His Divine 
 Master, assured that his mental faculties will not be left to 
 " sleep in death," but will receive that quickening, and that 
 ordering, which are requisite for the work in hand. 
 
 Then, as we should also well remember, the confessor's 
 
 1 S. Gregory the Great says (Horn, in Evang. lib. ii. 26), " Plerumque 
 contingit, ut hie judicii locum teneat, cui ad locum vita minime concordat. 
 
 Fit, ut ipsa hac ligandi et solvendi potestate se privet, . . 
 ut vel damnet immeritos, vel alios ipse ligatus solvat " (referring to 
 Ezekiel xiii. 19).
 
 216 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 insight is demanded merely for that decision, which he is to 
 make, on the sincerity of a soul's repentance. He is not 
 expected nay he is forbidden to make a study of all the 
 traits of character for which the person before him is remark- 
 able. That might be very interesting to a writer of fiction, a 
 physiognomist, or even a police agent : a priest has no business 
 with anything of the kind. A confession is not a biography ; 
 and, in the presence of an offended GOD, nothing is to be 
 thought of except that one by which all men are reduced 
 to the same level. For " all have sinned, and come short of the 
 glory of GOD." Alas ! how familiar is that path of disobedience! 
 and how little is unintelligible either in the story now being 
 told, or the motives of the offender, or even the cloak of deceit 
 which he may try to wrap around him ! Is not he who listens 
 of the same flesh and blood with him who kneels by his side ? 
 
 Chiefly, however, the priest does all as trusting to be aided by 
 great spiritual gifts from his LORD counsel, knowledge, and 
 ghostly strength. Trusting indeed earnestly. For the Master 
 who gave him this charge, is He whom " the FATHER sent to be 
 the Saviour of the world." 1 "Grace to help in time of need" will, 
 therefore, assuredly not be refused to one who holds commission 
 from the Redeemer of mankind. For something more than 
 natural sagacity is required to fill the tribunal of penitence. 
 
 And as to the gifts of the Spirit, who does not know that 
 they may be had ? These things are the daily food of faith, 
 the very common-places of the Christian religion. But it is at 
 times like these that they come home to our hearts with a fresh 
 force of joy, when we feel how they make the whole difference 
 to a ministry which would else be a blind leading of the blind. 
 
 III. Now, therefore, with confidence restored, and the cloud 
 of uncertainty cleared away, let CHRIST'S servant and deputy 
 spare no effort to make himself an able minister. It has been 
 well observed that he combines the duties of judge and physician; 
 and that his judgment will not be trustworthy unless he keeps 
 
 1 See i S. John iv. 14. The apostle's words, 6 llar^p dw^raXxe rbv vlbv 
 erwrfjpa. TOV K<ta>toi', sound as if he was thinking of, and explaining, what he 
 had heard from the very lips of the Incarnate SON, /catfiiu din-oTaX*.-*- fj.e 6 Ua-rf)p 
 (S. John xx. 21).
 
 The Preparation oj the Minister. 217 
 
 healing in view at the same time as judging. This is none the 
 less true, although we reject the idea of prolonged medical treat- 
 ment for the spiritual patient. However simple the immediate 
 remedies, they should form a reliable foundation for the 
 recovery which is hoped for. " Am I proposing more than 
 this wounded soul can bear? or am I, on the contrary, 
 suggesting so light a discipline, that he will go forth and forget 
 his good intentions, as the morning cloud passeth away ? " 
 Even in respect of the sorrow manifested, the priest will always 
 judge better if he takes his stand, not on the degree of 
 repentance perceptible at the moment, but on that towards which 
 his penitent may be supposed advancing, by the sure impulse 
 of Divine grace. He should try to think whether, in this case, 
 attrition promises to deepen into contrition, or whether there 
 is room to fear that the grief is altogether emotional and 
 transitory. He will be ever studying the soul's health at the 
 same time as the interests of Divine justice. 
 
 Now, if he is to expect good success in this endeavour, it is 
 needless to say that he must give attention to the subject 
 beforehand. The skill required by a physician is not to be had 
 instinctively. As, in the fifth chapter of Galatians, the apostle 
 wrote down nine fair virtues, " the fruit of the Spirit," destined 
 to be victorious over those " works of the flesh " which had 
 gone before; so should every priest be ready with proper 
 remedies for each harmful thing that has come to light in a 
 confession. But that he cannot do, unless he has thought, and 
 read, and prayed ; spending much time under the branches of 
 the tree of life, gathering the healing leaves. 
 
 Does this mean that he should be an adept in the science 
 of casuistry ? That is a regular part of the training of the 
 Roman Catholic clergy ; and one may be sure that they have 
 found practical advantages in the system. S. Paul himself 
 may have thought it worthy of some attention. 1 Men like 
 S. Basil, S. Charles, S. Francis de Sales, and our own Jeremy 
 Taylor, bowed their shoulders to the burden. Yet casuistry 
 " pierces through with many sorrows " those who pursue it ; 
 and although the motive is laudable, there is probably no such 
 1 See i Cor. v., vii., viii.
 
 2 1 8 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 thing as a perfect adaptation of moral canons to living 
 examples. Besides, there is another question. Most of the 
 old rules are good and true however painful the reading of 
 them but would not one's own common sense and experience 
 have arrived at much the same results ? Jeremy Taylor's 
 Ductor Dubitantium is admirable ; but the reason we admire it 
 is, that the maxims agree so wonderfully with our own 
 perceptions of right and wrong. Those, then, who prefer to 
 dispense themselves from threading the tortuous paths of 
 human transgression, may have some excuse in the expectation 
 that, should emergencies arise, their own natural discretion, 
 aided by experience, would supply the demand. If juniors find 
 themselves in serious perplexity, let them refer to their seniors, 
 asking permission for this from their penitents ; but let us 
 have pure air, and free space to walk in, while we may. The 
 vast bare plains of Africa are more wholesome than the dense 
 jungle of the tropics. 
 
 And yet we dare not speak in disparagement of holy men 
 who have embraced this yoke, always, and solely, in the hope 
 of saving souls for CHRIST. Let us honour those who toiled 
 so patiently amid these gloomy labyrinths, that they might 
 rescue poor wretches lying " in darkness and the shadow of 
 death." A priest who has no books of casuistry must still 
 prepare himself for judging and healing in the penitential 
 court. He must make his experience fruitful through vigilance; 
 meditate often on the Master's great sermon ; set before him 
 the humility of the saints and their hatred of sin ; be taught by 
 the eloquence of the sacred Passion ; propose to his mind the 
 severity of the Last Judgment. And he must invoke the 
 HOLY SPIRIT to make him faithful, and patient to the end. 
 
 As to the virtues most essential for discharging this office: 
 First and foremost is that " fear of the LORD " which " is the 
 beginning of wisdom." S. Charles recommended that the 
 immediate preparation for hearing confessions should be by 
 repeating the fifty-first psalm. 1 Then, the meekness which 
 
 1 Compare the language of an ancient Collect : 
 
 Adesto, Domine, supplicationibus nostris, et me, qui etiam miseri- 
 cordia tua primus indigeo, clementer exaudi ; et quern non electione
 
 The Preparation of the Minister. 219 
 
 would not refuse or put back any whose desire for spiritual help 
 is sincere. Then, long-suffering in bearing with tedious stories 
 and waste of time. Sometimes, too, a necessary sharpness in 
 rebuking or even dismissing persons who have no right to be 
 there. But always tenderness of compassion towards those in 
 heavy sorrow or distress of mind. 1 Shunning of familiarity. 
 Determination to allow no respect of persons, no difference 
 between rich and poor. The work is not without snares to an 
 ambitious spirit : on first beginning, young men are sometimes 
 tempted to draw numbers to resort to them, and to make to 
 themselves a reputation for spiritual ability. This, while it 
 lasts, is a form of pride more subtle and dangerous than any 
 ordinary love of fame. If not mortified, it will lead to jealousy 
 of other priests, and mischief of various kinds. Happily, it 
 seldom lasts long. The advice given in a confessional is not 
 received with applause like that which follows a popular 
 preacher. In a short time the confessor will have renounced 
 his dreams of becoming famous, and his daily prayer will then 
 be for grace to bear up under the sadness and monotony of his 
 task. Such monotony is inevitable. The devil's avenues are 
 few in number ; his methods of attack quickly grow familiar ] 
 the same stories have to be listened to in never-ending 
 succession ; even in the manner of confessing there is scarcely 
 any variety. What refuge then remains for the worn-out 
 pastor ? 
 
 Spiritual writers dwell much on the causes for thankfulness. 
 They point out many opportunities that a confessor enjoys, for 
 promoting his own sanctification, and for doing good. First, 
 he learns to have a great fear and horror of sin. " Do not I 
 hate them, O LORD, that hate Thee ? and am not I grieved 
 with those that rise up against Thee ? Yea, I hate them right 
 sore, even as though they were mine enemies." For instance, 
 he may have to watch over the conduct of some unhappy 
 creature struggling with the thirst for strong drink. By rights 
 
 meriti, sed dono gratiae tux constituisti operis hujus ministrum, da 
 fiduciam tui muneris exequendi, etc. (Oratio ad reconciliandum 
 poenitentem.) 
 
 1 Remembering that He whom we represent is the 
 dpx'f/>t'S (Heb. ii. 17).
 
 22O The Use of Penitence. 
 
 that soul should have been free of direction long ago. But, 
 alas ! he is so helpless when the temptation seizes him, that to 
 go and leave him now would be like throwing him to the 
 wolves. So again and again that " great offence " is repeated 
 with all the shame and scandal that it causes ; and again and 
 again the same miserable confession has to be made. O the 
 grief of seeing this happen to one whom baptism had 
 consecrated for a temple of the HOLY GHOST, and who, in his 
 sober moments, is full of love for higher things ! But even 
 sadder is the dealing with him who has been made the victim 
 of evil companions ; whom the priest knows to be longing and 
 praying to escape ! yet, from these few moments of peace 
 before GOD'S altar, seldom granted or hardly snatched, he 
 must hurry back to where the enemies of his soul await him. 
 Perhaps in some den of iniquity ; or, perhaps, among the 
 company assembled in a luxurious mansion a very hell upon 
 earth for all its splendour. There, too surely, he will find his 
 tempters ready. " Am not I grieved with those that rise up 
 against Thee ? " It is terrible ; and yet the lesson is one for 
 which the priest may thank GOD. For there are things he 
 knows about himself vicious tendencies that he had within 
 him long ago, or even lately which might have had 
 consequences as bad as any of these. But GOD has made his 
 sacred calling as it were an inviolable hedge for his protection. 
 Wherefore he thanks his LORD and Master for the security that 
 has come through knowing, as only a priest can, what the 
 hatefulness of sin really is. 
 
 But this, if it were all, would be a selfish kind of content- 
 ment. The real compensation is in being permitted to lift the 
 terrible weight of a besetting sin from one whom it would else 
 have crushed. What consoles the priest amid all the 
 dreariness and darkness, is his persuasion that his penitent 
 and he have their faces turned towards the sunshine, and that 
 they will be brought out at last into a land of liberty. Very 
 often the confessions heard are not saddening, but, on the 
 contrary, full of beautiful examples of religious earnestness. 
 Very often it is in listening to them that there is given, as it 
 were, a new revelation of how a predestined soul loves GOD,
 
 The Preparation of the Minister. 221 
 
 and desires for His sake to be perfect. Few things are more 
 wonderful than the longing of many a poor mother to bring up 
 her children for CHRIST, and the depth of her sorrow for small 
 infirmities of temper so anyone else would call them which 
 interfere with this aim. 1 But none know of this except the 
 priest to whom she comes, and the angels. Who then will 
 deny that hearing of confessions may promote his sanctifi- 
 cation ? Does he not return from the church glad at heart, 
 and saying many times to his own soul, " Be not overcome of 
 evil, but overcome evil with good ? " 
 
 Thankfulness should extend farther than this. There are 
 deliverances which have been wrought already, as well as those 
 which hope expects. Now, one feels that it must be right to 
 acknowledge what GOD has done by His minister with a Non 
 nobis Domine ; yet many will hesitate to speak in any way of 
 their own past achievements. Indeed a priest who quotes his 
 own performances is hardly justified, unless either there are facts 
 which GOD'S glory requires should not be forgotten, or the 
 mention of which would encourage a young brother, inclined 
 for the moment to despond. Here, however, the question is 
 not of speaking at all. No priest may speak of what has come 
 to pass in his private dealings with souls. 2 But that he should 
 quietly remember times when, after pardon pronounced by his 
 lips, the soul forgiven went forth with joy to meet old 
 temptations, and to prevail over them that is a different 
 thing.s There can be nothing of vain-glory in that silent 
 uplifting of the heart, on witnessing these new and wonderful 
 tokens of another's salvation. And still less should he be 
 accused of sinful boasting if he calls these things to mind many 
 years later, when the recollection that he did not labour 
 in vain will give him patience under trials greater than before. 
 
 1 Only less wonderful than the confidence felt by Christian parents in 
 the truth and goodness of their children, for whom they continually give 
 thanks while they pray. 
 
 2 Unless he can guard against all risk of the person being identified: 
 which is not often possible. If he fails, he has broken the seal. 
 
 3 See the Memoir of Charles Lowder (zoth edit.), p. 162 : " I have still 
 ringing in my heart the cry of two poor labouring lads who had just 
 made their first confession, and who came to me, their hearts bursting 
 with joy too great to bear : ' Ah, sir, if we could die now ! ' '
 
 222 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 " Yet not I, but the grace of GOD which was with me." He, at 
 least, needs no convincing that there is a special grace attached 
 to the ministry of Penitence. 
 
 IV. The English Church provides nothing in the shape of 
 early training for this office. But the truest principle, surely, is 
 that which is most obvious. A man who is to be a judge and 
 healer of others must know himself well in the first place. 1 By 
 a twofold process by self-examination, namely, and by 
 meditation. To meditate on the Passion is most generally 
 advised, because at the foot of the Cross, as nowhere else, is 
 contrition learned. Nothing, perhaps, is quite so good for 
 directing the intention, or recalling thoughts which too easily 
 wander, as that simple prayer, " O Saviour of the world, who by 
 Thy Cross and precious Blood hast redeemed us, Save us and help 
 us, we humbly beseech Thee, O LORD." Then, the life as well as 
 the death the life of Him who is our Life. A priest who hears 
 confessions should often set before him that mighty resurrection 
 to which he is leading the souls once dead in sin. He should 
 call on JESUS, " the Resurrection and the Life." He should 
 look to be raised in his own inner life, before he conducts the 
 pardoned to that first communion of reconciliation, which is to 
 be to them the foretaste of a blessed immortality. He should 
 hunger for that living Bread, using, if he will, the music of that 
 noble metre so famous in the annals of sacred minstrelsy : 
 
 " Vive Panis, vivax unda, 
 Vera Vitis et fcecunda, 
 Tu nos pasce, tu nos munda, 
 Ut a morte nos secunda 
 Tua salvet gratia ! " ' 
 
 V. If there is no special training, there are no limitations 
 either, in the English Church. Before the Reformation, 
 
 1 S. Gregory the Great says (Pastoral Rule, part II., Mr. Bramley's 
 translation), " They ' bear the vessels of the LORD,' who take upon them 
 to carry the souls of their neighbours by the faithfulness of their 
 conversation to the eternal sanctuary. Let them, therefore, consider 
 with themselves how much they ought to be cleansed who carry living 
 vessels," etc. 
 
 - From Adam of S. Victor (in Trench's Sacred Latin Poetry).
 
 The Preparation of the Minister. 223 
 
 the rule in England was that of the Lateran Council, A.D. 
 1215 ; where, by the 2ist Canon, it was enacted that all 
 the faithful, of both sexes, should once a year confess to 
 their own priest (proprio sacerdoti). This was understood to 
 mean their parish priest. In addition, many of the Friars and 
 other Religious had faculties granted them for hearing 
 confessions ; and the Roman Catholic laity are now allowed 
 a large choice of confessors, though these must always have 
 had a faculty to begin with. But in the English Church, since 
 it became independent of Rome, the necessary authority has 
 been conveyed, as a matter of course, together with the 
 priesthood. 1 All whom the Archdeacon presents to the 
 Bishop, if no impediment is alleged, receive through his 
 imposed hands the power to absolve, duly emphasised in the 
 form of words employed. Many persons now object to this, 
 thinking that the licence so freely granted ought to be 
 restricted to the fit and competent. No doubt there should be 
 a limit of age, subject to possible exceptions. With us, as in 
 the Roman Church, priests under thirty-five should not hear 
 the confessions of women. Perhaps that is the only reform 
 that should be made a law of the Church. Other arrangements 
 are so obviously right and natural, that thay are pretty sure to 
 find favour without the bidding of Canons. As, that this kind 
 of work should as a rule devolve upon rectors rather than 
 assistant-curates (though with exceptions allowed wherever a 
 younger man appears to have a vocation which the elder lacks). 
 Most certainly there are cases in which it is best that the 
 priest should not be too advanced in years. Even for women 
 (as experience is apt to show quite as well as the books of 
 ascetical writers) " short and severe " treatment is sometimes 
 wisest ; whereas the elder clergy may incline to be too gentle. 
 But, on the whole, the ministry of Penitence is a business on 
 which " days should speak, and multitude of years should teach 
 wisdom." 2 
 
 1 On the Roman theory, the power to absolve depends not merely on 
 a true Ordination, but on the right of jurisdiction, which those in schism 
 cannot have. (See S. Thomas, Summa, part II. 2, qu. xxxix. art. 3.) 
 
 - Job. xxxii. 7.
 
 224 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 VI. The preponderance of married clergy in England must 
 be mentioned as a difficulty. Either the ladies who frequent 
 the parsonage, friends of the wife and daughters, are pious 
 people desirous of spiritual attention, and then the trial may 
 be great to the priest's own help-mate ; or else it is a worldly 
 group that assembles there, and then their presence is a 
 hindrance to that higher life which a guide of souls ought 
 certainly to cultivate. It is by no means easy to bring the 
 seal of confession into accord with the social habits of English 
 families; and, as one does not wish to consider Anglican methods 
 as in every respect unalterable, let a hope be here expressed 
 that we may see the ministry of Penitence assigned more and 
 more to celibates. 1 
 
 VII. Although seniors should have most of this service, 
 seniors are not generally best for the oversight of boys. Once 
 in their lives, boys should receive instruction on the watch to 
 be kept against the uprising of certain secret sins. 2 The 
 instruction should be brief, plain, and peremptory, though not 
 unkindly ; and it should never be repeated again. He who 
 gives it should not be too far removed from the age of the boys 
 themselves. When he has shown the difference between what 
 is merely natural, and familiarities which are wicked and 
 dangerous, his lesson will have been delivered once for all. 
 There will be no occasion thenceforth for asking questions at 
 the time of confession, of a sort loathsome to the ingenuus 
 pudor of a high-principled lad. But it is most necessary for 
 boys to hear this matter spoken of once in their lives, with all 
 gravity and in the fear of GOD. Otherwise they may soon 
 be entrapped. Conscience pleads but faintly from out of the 
 deep void of inexperience ; and a thing which in itself is felt to 
 be wrong may yet be supposed innocent because no voice is 
 raised to condemn it. It is in combating this evil, that 
 our junior English clergy have behaved like true protecting 
 angels. 
 
 1 See Dr. Mason's advice on this subject, in chap. vi. of his very 
 admirable book, The Ministry of Conversion. 
 
 2 Parents and elder brothers have been known to do this, with the best 
 results : but the examples are probably rare.
 
 The Preparation of the Minister. 225 
 
 VIII. In early times, the minister (who was usually the 
 bishop) would have sat in the middle of the church to absolve ; 
 and the penitential court would have been accessible only 
 during the hours of daylight. With us, the time has to be 
 extended, so as to make allowance for working men, or for 
 those kept late at their business. The open church is still 
 preferred by many ; but the Roman confessional seems really 
 the best solution of that difficult problem, how to have no con- 
 cealment, and yet to cherish a modest reserve. The " box " is 
 perhaps unsightly, but it would not be easy to improve upon it 
 for practical purposes. 
 
 In concluding this chapter on the priest's preparation, let a 
 word of protest be allowed to the author. He refuses, with all 
 the firmness of which he is capable, to listen to the suggestions, 
 too often made, of scandals arising from the use of ministerial 
 absolution. One may regret, indeed, the passionate indignation 
 with which some on the Catholic side have hurled back their 
 defiance at calumniators. Although 
 
 " The purest treasure mortal times afford 
 Is spotless reputation: that away, 
 Men are but gilded loam, or painted clay," 
 
 we will not learn from the author of that sentiment to say, 
 farther, to our traducer 
 
 " as low as thy heart, 
 Through the false passage of thy throat, thou liest ! " * 
 
 But one may refuse to listen, though at the same time he 
 abstains from imputing motives. I have never myself, in the 
 course of a long experience, come upon the least trace of any- 
 thing disgraceful in the conference of priest with penitent. 
 For the former, if he is an honest man, the hearing of confes- 
 sions must greatly increase respect for human nature, and 
 confidence in the power of sanctifying grace. And I do verily 
 believe that if anywhere under the sun blameless lives are led, 
 they are those of the great majority of our Anglican clergy. 
 So that the following conclusion (no doubt applicable equally 
 to those of another communion, for whom it was intended), is 
 
 ' Shakspere's King Richard II., Act ii. sc. i.
 
 226 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 what I wish to state as my own by a very cordial adoption : 
 " Of all pastoral ministrations there is none which involves 
 a more self-denying devotion to a monotonous duty, none 
 where the good effects are so plain and visible, and very few 
 which are more seldom marred by human weakness and sin." * 
 Then 
 
 " LORD, pour Thy Spirit from on high, 
 
 And Thine ordained servants bless ; 
 Graces and gifts to each supply, 
 
 And clothe Thy priests with righteousness. 
 
 " Wisdom, and zeal, and faith impart, 
 
 Firmness with meekness, from above, 
 To bear Thy people in their heart, 
 
 And love the souls whom Thou dost love. 
 
 " So, when their work is finished here, 
 
 May they in hope their charge resign ; 
 So when their Master shall appear, 
 
 May they with crowns of glory shrine." 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE. 
 
 YET still a few words more on this important and difficult part of our 
 subject. Let me address them directly to brother-missionaries. 
 
 The fact is too plain that, wherever our own countrymen are found 
 (the foreign mission-field will be alluded to hereafter), a great majority 
 would prefer never to hear the absolving words spoken from the lips of 
 a clergyman. We need not think of the mob, nor of the godless rich. The 
 real trouble is that our best-educated and most honourable men are 
 against us. They do not attempt to persecute, but they hate the subject 
 of penitence, and avoid coming in contact with the clergy. This mischief 
 appears to be on the increase. Busied as we are with frequent services, 
 and having our days, indeed, fully occupied with attending to immediate 
 supporters, we barely touch a large class whose life and work are 
 important to the welfare of society, and should be, also, to the Church 
 of GOD. 
 
 1 Quoted from Addis and Arnold's [Roman] Catholic Dictionary. 
 (When I speak of " blameless lives," I refer to the one point, of social 
 purity. We, the English clergy, have failings enough of other kinds, and 
 some for which the laity might do well to reprove us much more than 
 thej' do. Alas ! how little is there of " contending earnestly for the 
 faith!" How many might be counted whose "knees have bowed unto 
 1 Mammon,' and whose mouths have kissed him ! ")
 
 The Preparation of the Minister. 227 
 
 The following thoughts, familiar to the present writer, may be worth 
 offering for consideration : 
 
 First, this estrangement of the laity has proceeded so far, that one 
 cannot expect to do more than a very little, in one's own life-time, towards 
 healing it. Nevertheless, each priest has his own particular cure of 
 souls ; and, whatever the state of feeling abroad, many of us know that it 
 is quite possible to live and be well understood by the earnest people of 
 one's own parish. This may amount to little more than a pleasant 
 good-natured intercourse, and exchange of civilities. But surely one 
 need not quite despair of coming to closer quarters, if the priest will 
 discard that manner which is often called sacerdotalism, but is really 
 only a form of proud and uncharitable reserve. Many sensible lay- 
 men exist who would be glad to understand better what the clergy 
 mean about confession. It is true that they are not commonly in- 
 clined to take much trouble to secure an interview ; and busy men at 
 home have not the same facilities for meeting out of business hours, 
 that they might enjoy on the deck of an Atlantic steamer. S. Paul 
 "received all that went to him in his own hired dwelling:" but the 
 difficulty now is, that they do not come. Yet, at least, one ought to 
 try one's best. The talk, if it could be had, would perhaps not bring 
 about any vital change of conviction or of private practice; but it 
 would dissipate a great deal of prejudice enough solid gain to begin 
 with. Moreover, through free discussion of a controverted point like 
 confession, educated men are sometimes led on to face the question of 
 amending their own lives, who would have refused a direct appeal. 
 
 The next advice is, whenever this subject has to be mentioned, either 
 privately or from the pulpit, by all means to " speak truth in love." In 
 love ; and therefore with modesty, not offending by absurd affectation or 
 arrogance. But still, to speak truth. Thirty years ago there was 
 a fashion of preaching confession " all the days : " now, perhaps, we have 
 run into the opposite extreme. By the inner circle, confession is now 
 perfectly understood and practised ; and such a multitude of these 
 devout ones come round the priest, that he thinks he may use the 
 ministry without obliging himself to invite to it. But meanwhile, those 
 outside are the more offended by a secresy and reserve which excite 
 their suspicions. 
 
 If we believe the whole of the Church's doctrines, we are not free to 
 keep silence as to one which, if it is most disliked, is also more mis- 
 represented through ignorance than any other. Even if but once in the 
 year, we should hold out the Church's keys to all who have fallen from 
 their baptismal grace ; and we should say why we do so, and what we 
 mean. Are not some of us much too fearful of risking popularity ? 
 There are times when a missionary should go to his work with " Blessed 
 be the LORD my strength, who teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers 
 to fight." That is what Charles Lowder or Richard West would have
 
 228 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 said, if they had been living still. A timid priest deserves nothing but 
 woe, to himself and all his works. 
 
 One thing remains to be added. Let us never be unthankful for the 
 souls that GOD does give to our care. Suppose it were true, that up to 
 thirty-five a priest is engaged with boys ; after that, with women ? In 
 point of fact, no missionary's influence is so restricted. But, if it were 
 true ? Are not these labours such as bring their reward ? Is it nothing, 
 that boys should learn by this means to hate and forsake sins to which 
 they will be tempted in manhood's ripeness ? Nothing, that the fervour 
 of good women should here be wisely regulated, and trained, perhaps, to 
 ceaseless activities of mercy, through the deep and sober earnestness 
 with which they turn from acknowledged faults ? Was not the youngest 
 of all the Twelve nearest to our Saviour's heart ? Were not women the 
 first to whom He showed Himself after He was risen, the first heralds of 
 His resurrection, the first whom He invited to touch Him with the prayer 
 of faith ? 
 
 Let there be nothing of restless dissatisfaction in a work like this. 
 It is circumscribed, that is certain : many doors, that we would fain see 
 opened, are jealously shut against us. Yet we seek souls and save them, 
 as our Master charged us ; and though our presence be hateful to those 
 who are His enemies, or viewed with cold dislike, alas ! even by some of 
 His faithful friends, to others we may approve ourselves " a sweet savour 
 of CHRIST unto GOD " a savour " from life unto life." 
 
 But we cannot rest here. Mention has been made of the prejudices 
 entertained by a great majority of our countrymen. We must be thank- 
 ful for the pious and docile remnant who do not share those prejudices : 
 but should we leave the rest to their own devices, if we have failed, even 
 by the most prudent and patient arguments, to convince them that 
 confession is right ? Some will answer, that that is the only thing to be 
 done ; we must " shake off the dust " and forsake them. For my own 
 part, since I do not consider that the gate of GOD'S mercy is absolutely 
 barred against all who do not use the sacramental key, I am inclined to 
 look round for some other means to introduce conviction of sin and 
 amendment of life. The unconverted are to be reckoned by millions. 
 If most of these are hardened against the full and blessed truth, by the 
 fault of their bringing-up and environment, we may still perhaps touch 
 the hearts of some by a simple preaching of the Cross. Surely our own 
 Pusey and Liddon would have approved of this ; to say nothing of 
 S. Chrysostom, S. Bernard, and S. Francis. So long as we can point the 
 way to a living Saviour, we are not the blind guides that some pretend. 
 It is true that His own way of confession and absolution must be the best 
 by which to find Him : but if it should be possible, even without that, to 
 bring the lost sheep within hearing of the Shepherd's voice ? Also, when 
 the magnitude of the task is realised, and the immense extent of the field, 
 ought not other willing workers to be enlisted, besides the clergy ? If
 
 The Preparation of the Minister. 229 
 
 they may not preach, in the strict canonical sense, they may still find 
 convenient times for addressing an audience of their neighbours and 
 comrades ; and they may pray with them. All devout laymen, indeed, 
 are not companions of S. Francis : all pious women are not S. Catherines ; 
 and, as a rule, this work is most prudently enterprised and carried on 
 through the agencies of Guilds or Religious communities, working under 
 the clergyman's eye. For, after all, it is the Mission-priest himself who, 
 living among the people, should be best able to approach them for their 
 souls' good, even though " those dread keys " are not carried in his hand. 
 But truly this is a time of sore distress. The harvest is great, but the 
 labourers are few. I am not ashamed that I have myself listened, thank- 
 fully and humbly, to the boisterous music of " The Army," making its 
 honest effort in our streets. Who can forbid any true-hearted workers in 
 such a cause as penitence ? " Would GOD that all the LORD'S people 
 were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them ! "
 
 230 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 In the Mission Field. 
 
 IT is characteristic of S. Luke's Gospel, that the great com- 
 mission recorded by S. Matthew to " go and make disciples 
 of all nations," should have its place taken there by a charge 
 to " preach repentance," to the same world-wide audience. 
 " Thus it is written, that the CHRIST should suffer, and rise 
 again from the dead the third day ; and that repentance and 
 remission of sins should be preached in His Name unto all 
 the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." Perhaps our LORD'S 
 reference may have been to the psalmist, who saw in the 
 pierced Hands and Feet an encouragement to " all the ends 
 of the earth to remember and turn .unto the LORD ; " or to 
 that serpent of brass which prefigured His own " lifting up 
 from the earth," whereby He " drew all men unto Him." 
 But, by whomsoever this had been foretold, the important 
 thing is that JESUS did not so much send His apostles to 
 hold classes of instruction, or to inculcate a higher moral 
 code, as to proclaim to the heathen world GOD'S eternal 
 purpose; namely, to save them from their sins through the 
 precious Blood of His dear SON. Thus from the first advance 
 of the Catholic army upon the regions of darkness, its 
 foremost weapon and instrument of conquest has been the 
 doctrine of " repentance toward GOD, and faith toward our 
 LORD JESUS CHRIST." Our ascended King, to whom "the 
 nations have been given for an inheritance, and the uttermost 
 parts of the earth for a possession," admits these new subjects 
 to His kingdom by the baptismal washing, the healing of 
 Absolution, the reconciliation in the Blessed Eucharist.
 
 In the Mission Field. 231 
 
 As a matter of fact, the preaching of the Gospel dates from 
 the tears of Magdalene, 1 the " turning " of Peter, 2 the " appre- 
 hension " of Saul the persecutor. 3 
 
 Wherever the need of repentance is understood and 
 accepted, there the Gospel spreads, even to this day. At 
 the present time, the missionary Church has two great and 
 enormous tasks set before it. Asia is to be converted to 
 Christianity, and so is Africa. Why is one of these enterprises 
 discouraging, while the other is full of hope ? What makes 
 the contrast between the slow growth in Asia, and the quick 
 ripening in Africa ? Missionaries do not hesitate to assign the 
 cause. They say that the eastern races have, as a rule, little 
 sense of sin : and therefore CHRIST crucified is preached to 
 them in vain. The negro tribes, on the other hand, are 
 capable of better feeling, and by no means indifferent to their 
 need of a Saviour. In the short space which this chapter is to 
 cover, we shall, perhaps, do best if we confine our attention to 
 these more receptive natures. 
 
 Many will have felt a delightful freedom in undertaking 
 missionary work in Africa. This light-hearted people, so 
 tractable, so eager to learn, seem to offer the most glorious 
 opportunities to an evangelist.* How one sees them still in 
 fancy, crowding round a new arrival from England, attentive 
 to his least request, impatient to hear or to follow him whither- 
 soever he pleases ! It seems too good to be true, that one can 
 shake off one's bondage to Puritanical or Scholastic accretions, 
 and proclaim everywhere among them the simple and happy 
 faith of the Primitive Church. " It is CHRIST JESUS that died, 
 yea, rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right 
 hand of GOD, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall 
 separate us from the love of CHRIST ? " There is something 
 exhilarating, too, in the aspect that poverty wears out yonder ; 
 so seldom is it felt as a curse, so little of sullen discontent goes 
 
 1 S. John xx. 15-19. 2 S. Luke xxii. 32. 
 
 3 Philipp. iii. 12 ; compare i Cor. xv. 8-n ; i Tim. i. 12-17. 
 
 4 Compare the Epistle to Diognetus (chap v.), " Every foreign land is to 
 Christians as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land 
 of strangers."
 
 232 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 with it. One begins to understand better the Saviour's own 
 pleasure in preaching the Gospel to the poor. 
 
 So, then, the more simple-minded heathen are gathered 
 into the fold by the Sacrament of Baptism. This is offered 
 to them, just as it would have been of old, to be their entrance 
 into a new life, bearing fruit unto holiness. But they are not 
 thus " initiated " without a good deal of trouble. For, by this 
 time, what had appeared at first simple eagerness has been 
 proved to carry with it very little of earnestness or stability. 
 The average African remembers scarcely anything of what 
 he has been taught, and understands even less than he 
 remembers. Nor is it possible to make him a Christian 
 without the sacrifice of heathen habits and customs, some 
 of which he is most reluctant to part with. In short, for 
 many reasons, the catechumenate is an ordeal which few 
 will face, unless the chiefs and head men have set the 
 fashion. What makes the great difference between Africa 
 and India, or China, is, that African chiefs sometimes do 
 lead the way, and then the people's natural eagerness is 
 seen, very quickly, in a wave of conversion which spreads 
 through the tribe. But the African requires leading in his 
 temporal concerns as well as spiritual. Even in a quiet 
 West Indian settlement, 1 there is little hope of contesting 
 the influence of an individual land-owner, if used against the 
 Church : while a zealous native catechist will often be loyally 
 obeyed by all around. Thus the progress of a Mission is far 
 from uniform : but, as growth in one spot compensates for 
 barrenness in others, on the whole a considerable number of 
 baptisms are registered at each Easter and Pentecost. 
 
 The Gospel preached is always a Gospel of Repentance. 
 The change, to a baptized convert, can be no less than passing 
 " from darkness to light." Of much, that even the gentler 
 heathen manners permit, the apostle would say, " I tell you 
 plainly, that they which practice such things shall not inherit 
 the kingdom of GOD." Thus the vow of renunciation will always 
 
 1 The author's acquaintance is chiefly with the transplanted negro ; but 
 he has visited Africa too, in former years, and believes that the same 
 type of character is found on both sides of the Atlantic.
 
 In the Mission Field. 233 
 
 have considerable force for an African neophyte. Contrition 
 is another matter. S. Paul speaks of converts being "ashamed" 
 of things done before the new birth, but he was not appealing 
 then to the most ignorant ; and one can see that it is nearly 
 impossible for these to feel deep sorrow, when they are giving 
 up this or that chiefly because an English clergyman says that 
 they ought. All this is perfectly natural. But yet the absence 
 of contrition for what is past makes the future full of danger to 
 the newly-baptized. 
 
 Fear of men's threatening is always the chief motive to 
 apostasy. So it was under the old persecutions of the Caesars. 
 Men repudiated their Christian profession because they dreaded 
 the prospect of exile or death, or because they were worn out 
 by protracted torture. Now, when the qtuzstio in all its horrors 
 is no longer to be apprehended, nor the " putting out of the 
 synagogue " (so to speak), except in countries where the 
 tyranny of caste prevails, a newly-baptized Christian may 
 still have something worse than petty annoyance to endure 
 from his heathen neighbours. His wife may forsake him, or 
 his crops be burned, or he may be delated to the chief for 
 witchcraft. Or, where persecution is quite unknown, and there 
 is nothing to be afraid of, a convert's natural fickleness and 
 instability may move him to escape from the Church's rules, as 
 lightly as he would change his coat. Other frequent lapses 
 after baptism are of the kind common among a half-savage 
 populace: by revenge, slander, murderous assault; by trafficking 
 in charms and spells ; or by matrimonial unfaithfulness. There 
 is so little idea of self-control, that some such breaches of the 
 baptismal covenant are almost certain to occur. And baptism 
 cannot be postponed indefinitely. Many of our missionaries, 
 indeed, require their adult candidates to submit to a training of 
 several years' duration. Even then, if they expect perseverance 
 from the font onwards, they are generally disappointed. 
 
 Yet there is good hope, in most cases, of ultimate improve- 
 ment. These people are still teachable, though they forget. 
 They are amiable and warm-hearted, though it may be a mis- 
 take to look for real strength of affection in a savage. The 
 heart usually needs to be trained, as well as the mind and
 
 234 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 memory : nevertheless, the African is eminently susceptible of 
 good impressions. And one thing more is in his favour. If 
 he has failed to control himself, he perfectly understands that 
 it is his place to be controlled by the white man. What, then, 
 is to be done ? As to that there can be no doubt at all. He 
 must fully learn that lesson which he could only have half 
 learned before his baptism the lesson of penitence. It is 
 easier to learn now. In the first place, a missionary should 
 have no difficulty in pointing out to him the difference between 
 this latter fall of his and the sins which he committed while 
 a heathen. Those were done in ignorance : this in viola- 
 tion of a solemn vow made to the holy GOD in whom he 
 had been taught to believe, and from whom he had received 
 grace to lead a new life. He sees, then, how wrong it would 
 be for him to claim the full privileges of Church membership, 
 or to approach the altar for communion, until, through some 
 serious punishment of self, he has sought and obtained re- 
 instatement in the baptismal condition, and has been received 
 once more into the family of GOD. After he has come to 
 acknowledge thus much, the next thing is to bring him on 
 from a mere willingness to be punished, into the state of true 
 conversion to GOD. This is most important. Missionaries 
 are often tempted to fall back upon something like the old 
 exomologesis. Excommunication, followed by public disgrace, 
 and at last by restoration this, they think, is exactly what 
 their people can best understand and profit by. Now, however 
 indispensable excommunication may be, it is not enough, by 
 itself, to awaken the conscience to right thoughts about sin 
 and about GOD. Even if the people, at the sort of mission- 
 station we are considering, could be trusted to punish each 
 other with discretion, or would understand any discipline which 
 conflicted with their own traditions, we must still remember 
 that the supposed offender would not be helped by his sentence 
 of exclusion to get at the roots and causes of his transgression. 
 And unless he knew those, it is unlikely that his punishment 
 would produce in him any fixed purpose of amendment : there 
 would be no sorrow for sin. For example, he might be ex- 
 communicated for wounding or cursing his neighbour : but
 
 In the Mission Field. 235 
 
 something more would be required to make him pray earnestly 
 for the spirit of meekness and patience. Here, then, it is that 
 Confession and Absolution have their place in the mission-field. 
 They dispose converts using them to mourn over their dis- 
 obedience, to desire heartily to forsake their sin, and to promise 
 amendment, not to the congregation only, but in the sight of 
 the great and holy GOD. 
 
 Confession to a priest is the only way, for them. You can- 
 not send them, like well-trained Christians in a civilised country, 
 to construct their own forms of prayer, to make out their own 
 way back to GOD. It was not for such as these that S. Chrys- 
 ostom and S. Augustine enjoined the Our FATHER, with alms- 
 giving, as an all-sufficient remedy. They are children in under- 
 standing, and their pastors should treat them, accordingly, with 
 the care which befits children. Thus, to glance back at the 
 titles of the last two chapters, "the preparation of the penitent" 
 and " the preparation of the minister " are not so much two 
 corresponding duties, as the sole business of the priest, who has 
 to lead and prompt the confession, as well as to receive it. It 
 is a great responsibility, and perhaps he should feel that to 
 come to the task with entire lowliness of mind is more important 
 than any other care in preparation. Missionaries, indeed, can- 
 not be too watchful against the sin of arrogance. They are 
 forced to take a lead abroad, for the sake of "these sheep," 
 which they would have had to wait long before they were fit for, 
 among educated people at home. Above all things, therefore, 
 must they pray to be kept humble when they hear confessions. 
 That done, let them give their whole attention to these poor 
 wanderers. The main point is to instil contrition by showing 
 them the wickedness of certain definite sins not, in their case, 
 to mix great matters with small, but to fix their regards upon 
 the evil which GOD hates, and which ought " not so much 
 as to be named " among His redeemed. One must still not 
 expect too much. Even at this stage, they may not be 
 able to appropriate the apostolic teaching, that they have 
 " crucified to themselves the SON of GOD afresh, and put Him 
 to an open shame." But yet it is scarcely probable that they 
 will fail in outward signs of emotion. They will have come
 
 236 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 eagerly to confession, when invited, and the same eagerness 
 will be shown in accusing and bewailing themselves for what 
 they have to confess. They are like S. Augustine's flock, whom 
 he saw beating their breasts directly the word " confession " was 
 mentioned. 1 The really hard thing is to make an impression 
 deep enough, if not to last for a great while, at least to prevent 
 foolish behaviour when they quit the church. There is a strong 
 inclination to disregard the confidence which the priest holds so 
 sacred, by talking to neighbours freely, and alas ! not always 
 quite truthfully, of what has just been discussed in the con- 
 fessional. In short, the African has much to learn of the " fear," 
 as well as the " love," of GOD'S Holy Name. But it is not right 
 to keep his affections starved because for a long time he will be 
 deficient in awe for sacred things. Within proper safeguards, 
 he must be allowed an emotional form of penitence. Nothing 
 in the shape of public discipline would have the effect that con- 
 fession has, in winning his heart to right objects, and to the love 
 of JESUS crucified. Hereafter, when that love is weighted by 
 better knowledge, he will have a beginning of the fear which he 
 cannot feel now. 
 
 Such converts as we have had in view are usually more than 
 willing to use confession, so soon as the duty has been explained 
 to them. 2 It is not uncommon for the number of those confess- 
 ing before Easter to be as large, or even larger, than that of the 
 communicants at the Feast itself. But the sheep must have a 
 distinct leading from their pastor. Where that is refused, there 
 may be great crowds of communicants, but much sacrilege, and 
 very little Christianity. Would that our Foreign Missions were 
 more true to that original note of penitence, impressed upon 
 His Church by her Divine Founder ! " That repentance and 
 remission of sins should be preached in His Name unto all the 
 nations, beginning from Jerusalem." 
 
 Surely we should have a larger episcopal consent to the 
 system that has been advocated if the moral status of most 
 heathen converts were duly pondered. Simple Africans or 
 
 1 See S. Aug. Serm. xxix. chap. ii. : " Sunt enim parum eruditi, qui 
 cum audierint confessionem in Scripturis, continue tundunt pectora." 
 
 2 Father Puller tells me that he has found this the case in South Africa.
 
 In the Mission Field. 237 
 
 Melanesians are not deceived by refinements of evil. They 
 know, though with a rude perception, that there is " no concord 
 between CHRIST and Belial." 1 But evil looks stronger to them 
 than good ; and the powers of evil will bind them hand and 
 foot, if they are not succoured. Against this has to be set their 
 confidence in their clergy, and, of course, the all-sufficiency of 
 Divine grace, which the clergy minister. From their "Fathers" 
 they will accept discipline, if need be, as well as absolution 
 discipline like that enjoined by the old Anglo-Saxon Council, 2 
 " according to the judgment of the priests, and the measure of 
 the offence." Perhaps, too, a public reconciliation might be 
 useful after the ancient pattern ;3 carried out coram sancto altari, 
 in the presence of the faithful assembled. But then there should 
 have been private confession in the first instance : else the lesson 
 of penitence would remain unlearned, and instead of strength to 
 the soul, there would only be labour and sorrow. 
 
 Contrition cannot exist without love, and the awakening of 
 the affections is therefore a necessary part of penitence. We 
 have seen that it should be so in the mission-field : but we may 
 satisfy ourselves that the same is indispensable everywhere. 
 This is indeed evident ; because, wherever repentance is genuine, 
 the soul is brought back, in all its faculties, to the service of the 
 long-forsaken Master. The affections, therefore, must form part 
 of the offering. These cannot be excluded. The love of the 
 penitent heart is " without hypocrisy," true and tender, both to 
 GOD and man. Again, since this love is manifested in sorrow 
 for the deep ingratitude of past disobedience, there can hardly 
 be Christian repentance without some display of emotion. 
 Accordingly, we read in the life of S. Ambrose, that his feelings 
 were deeply stirred by hearing confessions : he wept, himself, in 
 compassion for the grief that he witnessed in others. The same 
 thing is recorded of other holy men. 
 
 Yet, in England at least, and in these days, it is usual to 
 
 1 See Milton (Par. Lost, bk. ii.) : " Belial, in act more graceful and humane 
 . . . his thoughts were low, To vice industrious . . . yet he pleased the ear." 
 Such a being would rather be a tempter to the polite and luxurious. 
 
 2 The Council of Cealchythe (Can. xx.) A.D. 787. 
 
 3 See Constit. Apostol. lib. ii. 41. Also Martene, vol. ii. p. 28; Pelliccia 
 (Engl. trans.), p. 469-472.
 
 238 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 repress nearly all signs of emotion while confessions are being 
 heard. One might say that the tone of the confessional is 
 almost coldly severe. This is sometimes needful as a pre- 
 caution, that so the intercourse between the two persons 
 concerned may be blameless. Chiefly, however, it is enjoined 
 for reverence of the awful majesty of Him, " Maker of all things, 
 Judge of all men," into whose ears the confession is poured, and 
 before whom the priest stands as minister. Some restraint of 
 feeling is certainly right and wise. But what, then, becomes of 
 the tribute of the affections ? 
 
 Without breaking through the sacred veil of reserve, may it 
 not be possible to train the heart some other way, both to love 
 and to mourn ? As for instance, by the plan already recom- 
 mended ; when the priest, gravely and quietly, contrasts the 
 Divine goodness with the offences numbered in his hearing. 
 Then, too, there are secondary helps not to be despised : such 
 as hymns, pious pictures, music which touches the heart with 
 indescribable pleading. 1 These influences surround the con- 
 fessional, as it were, though they may not enter there. One 
 symbol, too, most precious of all, does find a place within the 
 dear and sacred Crucifix. So long as the penitent feels that 
 those Eyes are regarding him that he is kneeling and praying 
 where those outstretched Hands plead ever for his forgiveness 
 he will not be unmoved, nor make an unloving confession. So 
 long as that same Figure hangs by the side of the absolving 
 priest, he can never forget how alone " the merciful are blessed ; 
 for they shall obtain mercy." 2 
 
 " A broken heart, a fount of tears, 
 
 Ask, and they will not be denied ; 
 LORD JESUS, may we love and weep, 
 Since Thou for us art crucified." 
 
 1 M. Huysmanns, in his popular story En Route, attributes his own con- 
 version to the sweet influence of Compline, sung to the Church's plain-song. 
 
 - Still, this is a difficult matter in practice. No injury must be done 
 to love; yet sobriety of judgment is imperilled by uncontrolled emotion. 
 It is impossible to have the same rule for everybody. Most Anglo-Saxons 
 would probably sa)', " Give us facts, and let feelings alone." On the other 
 hand, Archer Butler, a man of Catholic convictions and most extraordinary 
 intellect, is said to have broken with Rome simply because his Celtic 
 warmth of feeling was repressed by an unsympathetic confessor.
 
 Relation of Penitence to the two Sacraments of the Gospel. 239 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Relation of Penitence to the two Sacraments of the 
 Gospel : duration of the penitent condition. 
 
 "WE know that whosoever is begotten of GOD sinneth not. 
 . . . The evil one toucheth him not." If the child of GOD 
 went on as he began, there would be no institution of Peni- 
 tence. Penitence has for its whole object the recovery of that 
 justifying grace which, considered in itself, and from the side of 
 GOD the giver, should have been indefectible. Penitence 
 therefore, of necessity, comes into request after Baptism. 
 Catechisms, whether of the Roman or the Eastern Church, 
 declare its use to be for those who, after receiving the adoption 
 of sons in CHRIST by spiritual regeneration, have returned to 
 the bondage of sin. These are by its means " pardoned and 
 delivered from all their sins," whether of thought, word, or 
 deed. Our own Catechism lacks definitions of this or any of 
 the lesser sacraments ; but the intention of our Church is plainly 
 the same, as appears from various places in the Prayer Book, 
 and particularly the Visitation of the Sick. 
 
 We place Penitence confidently after Baptism (which at 
 the present stage of enquiry we may take to include Confirma- 
 tion, since that has always been understood as the completion 
 of the initiatory rite). But its position with regard to Holy 
 Communion is rather less easy to fix. If the first communion 
 is proper to be received directly after baptism, surely there can 
 be no ground between to be recovered by repentance ? And 
 surely, a healthy soul will see the way at once laid open for it 
 to approach the altar ? This is an important matter. In 
 ancient times, tender years were not considered a bar to
 
 240 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 partaking of " the mysteries." In the third century, as we 
 know from S. Cyprian, 1 babes were carried in their parents' 
 arms to receive the sacred Chalice; in the fourth, the Apostolical 
 Constitutions 2 require mothers to hold and bring their little 
 ones to the altar ; in the fifth, though the meaning is not quite 
 clear, both S. Augustine 3 and S. Leo 4 seem to speak of very 
 young children being communicants. However, it does not 
 appear that infant Communion became a general practice much 
 before the ninth century. Of course it could not have been 
 general where infant baptism was not also general, and there- 
 fore perhaps hardly anywhere at first except in the province of 
 Africa. But Martene 5 quotes a rubric of about A.D. 800, by 
 which it is made imperative that the newly-baptized infant 
 should receive first communion on the same day, even though 
 no bishop were present to confirm beforehand. This was at 
 Paris. But the custom cannot have obtained for very long in 
 the Western Church, because it would be discontinued naturally 
 when the Cup was forbidden to the laity, (the species of bread 
 being unsuitable to infants :) whereas in the East, where little 
 ones may be communicated in wine only, infant communion is 
 still accounted lawful. 6 
 
 There is no certain tradition of the origin of this infant 
 communion. It seems to have been thought at one time that 
 our LORD'S words in S.John vi. 53, would exclude from eternal 
 
 1 S. Cyprian (De Lapsis, chap. xvi.). 
 
 2 Apostol. Constit. lib. viii. chap, xii : rd TrcuSfa 7rpo<rXa/x/3ci'e<r0e, at nrjrepfs. 
 
 3 S. Augustine refers to the communion of infantes, both in his anti- 
 Pelagian treatises, and in several of his sermons ; but as it appears that 
 the infantes were old enough to receive instruction from him on the 
 Mysteries, one cannot suppose that they were what we should now call 
 infants or babes. Indeed, an " infant " seems to have been simply 
 one born again, of whatever age : " Qui paulo ante vocabantur com- 
 petentes, modo vocantur infantes," (Serm.ccxxviii.). The usual references 
 to this subject made from S. Augustine are, Opus Imperf. contra Julian, ii. 
 30 : Serm. clxxiv. 7 : (these two are very brief indeed) ; De Peccator. Merit. 
 i. 20, and 24 ; and the series of Sermons ccxxiv.-ix. 
 
 4 See S. Leo (Ep. lix.) " Ut nee ab infantium linguis veritas corporis 
 et sanguinis Christi inter communionis sacramenta taceatur." 
 
 5 Martene (De Rit. lib. i. chap. i. art. 18) refers to the Ritual of the great 
 Abbey of S. Germain les Pres, founded by Childebert a little before 550. 
 
 6 See Mr. Scudamore's article in Smith and Cheetham's Diet. Chr. Anti- 
 quities.
 
 Relation of Penitence to the two Sacraments of the Gospel. 241 
 
 life any who had not eaten His Flesh and drunk His Blood. 
 That opinion would incline parents to bring their children at 
 the very first opportunity, unless they were persuaded to think 
 that " every one of the faithful who is made a member of 
 CHRIST in baptism, partakes thereby of His Body and Blood." 1 
 But perhaps this subject need not engage our attention farther 
 at present, because the practice has been discontinued, and we 
 have forgotten the alarm about S. John vi. 53; affirming rather, 
 as a thing " certain by GOD'S word, that children which are 
 baptised, dying before they commit actual sin, are undoubtedly 
 saved." The mind of the Western Church is that, for infants, 
 the grace of their baptismal adoption suffices, since the only sin 
 to which they are required to die is that peccatum originis, the 
 universal taint, for which their own wills cannot be responsible. 
 It is interesting to read a full and remarkable statement made 
 by Lanfranc in answer to a question on this subject. (See Dean 
 Stephens' History of the English Church, vol. ii. p. 57.) 
 
 However, we must also remember that adult catechumens 
 during many centuries were admitted, on the day of their 
 baptism, not only to confirmation, but to first communion. 2 
 Nor is the modern custom very different in this respect from 
 the ancient. We lose sight of it a good deal in England, 
 because adult baptisms are comparatively rare ; but in the 
 foreign Mission-field, as Easter Eve is again made an oppor- 
 tunity for " the laver of regeneration," so is Easter Day for the 
 first Eucharist of the regenerate convert. This is a much 
 greater step than it could be for the little ones. " As the man 
 is, so is his strength." His soul will stand in need of much 
 more than the new birth in baptism. He will require, first, 
 a preventing or directing influence from heaven, for a true 
 consecration of self to GOD; then, a force to protect, support, 
 and comfort him under such trials and temptations as belong to 
 riper years ; but above all, a grace of fellowship with CHRIST 
 the perfect Man, to be consummated hereafter in the entire 
 union of the servant with the Master, of the derived life with 
 
 1 See note in Benedict. Edit, (quoting S. Fulgentius,) to S. Aug. De 
 Peccator. Merit, i. 20. See also Wilberforce On the Holy Eucharist, chap, 
 viii., near the end. 2 See Pelliccia, E.T., pp. 18, 19.
 
 242 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 that which is absolute and eternal. These are the needs which 
 Holy Communion supplies. Faith may indeed fail before the 
 richness of the gift, so inconceivably " more than either we 
 desire or deserve." Such words as the sixth chapter of S. John 
 contains, about the mutual indwelling of CHRIST and the com- 
 municant, would be truly overwhelming if they were not so 
 familiar. But there they stand, and we know that they are 
 consistent with other words of His ; as, for instance, His 
 parable of the vine and branches. Apart from Him we cannot 
 live. It is not enough to attempt a feeble imitation of what He 
 is : we must " grow up in all things into Him, which is the 
 Head, even CHRIST." 
 
 This growth, according to the Divine intention, is without 
 decay : " he that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood hath 
 eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." But it is 
 also clear that the union of soul with Soul should begin as soon 
 as possible : and this brings our thoughts back again to at all 
 events very early communion. He invites us to come to Him 
 now. " All things are now ready." Thus if man or woman 
 have been baptized late in life, there seems every reason why 
 their progress from font to altar should be hastened to the 
 utmost. But what after infant baptism ? If some interval is 
 then expedient, should it not be a shorter interval than what 
 the common sentiment now enjoins? Surely the full purpose 
 of Holy Communion can hardly be attained, unless the feeding 
 upon CHRIST has dated from a soul's first conscious entrance 
 upon its allotted course of trial. That would seem to have 
 been what the Primitive Church had in mind, when not 
 " infants of days " so much as quite young children, were 
 admitted. " The virgins and widows, then the children, then 
 all the people, reverently and in order." 1 "Children who 
 cannot understand divine things are yet made partakers . . . 
 of the divine communion of the most sacred mysteries." 2 Little 
 though they might understand, yet they were bidden to the 
 Feast; for life's trial had begun, and, like their elders, they 
 needed the living Bread. We in England have much to do in 
 
 1 See Apostol. Constit. (lib. viii. chap, xiii.) 
 
 9 From " Dionysius : " see Scudamore's article.
 
 Relation of Penitence to the two Sacraments of the Gospel. 243 
 
 recovering that lost privilege for our little ones. And Keble 
 would have helped us, if he had been living still. (See his 
 " Disuse of Infant Communion," in Lyra Innocenttum.} 
 
 But the state of things with which we have actually to deal 
 is very different. We begin with an early baptism, which is 
 not now completed as it used to be by the bishop's " sealing," 
 but is merely regarded as " a death unto sin, and a new birth 
 unto righteousness," without any prospective arming for the 
 warfare which is to follow. Confirmation has been detached 
 from Baptism, and is postponed till twelve years of age at the 
 soonest, when it forms a sort of gate or porch to the sanctuary 
 an introduction to the first Eucharist, also delayed until 
 childhood has almost passed into youth. 
 
 Now this makes a great difference in the relation of 
 Penitence, both to Confirmation and to Holy Communion. It 
 is hardly necessary to explain that the intention of the modern 
 Church in postponing both of these has been to emphasise the 
 personal responsibility of the communicant. All are not agreed 
 as to the age when personal responsibility begins. Those who 
 lay most stress on education will often fix it at fifteen : then, 
 they say, a young Christian is fairly competent to " speak, 
 understand, and think, as a man;" and not till then should he 
 be promoted to full membership in the Church. Others main- 
 tain that children even of seven years of age will have ex- 
 perienced an awakening of conscience, and are capable of moral 
 conduct. 1 But either way, the principle is the same. There is 
 to be no communion before " years of discretion." 
 
 And what are " years of discretion ? " The years which 
 begin from the time when a soul first has its organs of 
 spiritual perception trained to be able to discern good from 
 evil. 2 When that stage has been reached, the door will be 
 thrown open to full membership in the Church. But now it 
 becomes at once evident that something else may be required 
 before claiming the full Catholic inheritance. For directly 
 moral choice is possible, sin is also possible ; and even the sins 
 
 1 See S. Aug. (De Anima et ejus origins, lib. i. cap. xii.) : " Illius setatis 
 pueri et mentiri et verum loqui et confiteri et negare jam possunt." He 
 alludes to Dinocrates, brother of the martyr Perpetua, who had died at 
 the age of seven : (see Alban Butler). - See Westcott on Heb. v. 14.
 
 244 The U se f Penitence. 
 
 of children may have in them a malice which is deadly. 1 
 When a lie is told wilfully and wickedly by one child to hurt 
 another, perhaps the evil intention is as real as when a 
 grown man circulates slanders about his patron, or forges 
 cheques against his estate. It will, therefore, happen that in 
 the very hour when a Christian pastor should first have the joy 
 of feeding a little flock of CHRIST'S lambs with the true Bread 
 from heaven, one or more of these children will be in a state 
 nearer to death than life eternal. Then the angel-guardian 
 grieves but not despairs ; and JESUS seeks the soul that He 
 " suffered to come " to Him at the font, that He may find it 
 again and bring it back in His arms ; and the HOLY SPIRIT 
 waits to return to what was His temple till so lately. Yet, for 
 the present, there is a " sin unto death " between that child's 
 soul and the heavenly feast. One sees at once, that what was 
 said in former chapters about the treatment of grave sin must 
 apply here. The little one cannot have wandered very far, 
 but he has left his home, and must be restored by penitence 
 by confession and absolution. That is the regularly-appointed 
 ministry through which JESUS seeks and saves, and the HOLY 
 SPIRIT brings back the love of GOD. Restoration should be 
 easy for a child so young, having such a short acquaintance 
 with evil ; but we have no warrant to excuse any from treading 
 the prescribed path. Only those who repent and confess, 
 whether they be old or young, can assure themselves that " the 
 Blood of JESUS cleanseth them from all sin." 2 
 
 Penitence has thus, in these latter days, come to be con- 
 sidered proper and wholesome before the first partaking of 
 
 1 The author earnestly hopes not to be misunderstood. Like most 
 missionaries, he has been forced to have sometimes experience of very 
 youthful depravity. But he firmly believes in the holiness and 
 righteousness of thousands of English homes. Many men's retrospect 
 of childhood will have been as little shameful as that of Richard Baxter, 
 whose worst failings were a little boyish conceit, rudeness to parents, and 
 robbing orchards to gratify an immoderate appetite for fruit ! (Yet this 
 last offence was reckoned a /acinus by S. Augustine ; see his Confessions, 
 bk. ii. chap, vi.) 
 
 2 It is not meant here to go beyond what had been said before, but 
 to insist that sacramental confession may be required for the young as 
 much as for elders.
 
 Relation of Penitence to the two Sacraments of the Gospel. 245 
 
 Holy Communion. And before Confirmation also ; since 
 Confirmation is now so commonly regarded as the last step in 
 preparation for the greater sacrament. The clergy find it 
 highly expedient to bring their candidates to confession at this 
 important stage. Here is an opportunity, the like of which can 
 never occur again, for checking the young in tendencies, which, 
 if encouraged, would soon be fraught with grave spiritual peril. 
 So the clergy do their utmost to make confession customary for 
 all who are to be brought to the bishop. There is, of course, a 
 little danger in this danger of unreality, if children are led to 
 penitence before their consciences have begun to accuse of sin ; 
 and a possible danger of suggesting evil to some " in whose 
 spirit there is no guile." On the whole, therefore, it is best 
 that this should not be made an absolute rule. Let the priest 
 use discrimination, and take advice of parents and teachers. 
 But there is much to be said for, as well as against. 
 
 Two things have to be considered in speaking of the 
 repentance of young persons not yet confirmed. The first is 
 this : that the state to which the Church's ministry restores 
 them, repenting, is simply the baptismal condition : that, alone, 
 being the degree of Christian fellowship to which they had 
 attained, and from which they fell. Now, to have lost the 
 fruits of the HOLY SPIRIT'S indwelling is, indeed, a terrible 
 disgrace. " Infants just baptized are bright as the cherubim, as 
 flames of fire rising heavenward in sacrifice to GOD." 1 But 
 although the light within be quenched for awhile when they 
 sin, we must remember that they have not yet fully " tasted the 
 good word of GOD, and the powers of the world to come." 
 Therefore, when they are being led back to the grace that they 
 have forfeited, care should be taken not to alarm them unduly. 
 A difference should always be made, and impressed upon their 
 minds, between sins committed before, and after, the first Com- 
 munion. There is not much of deep contriving where childish 
 disobedience is concerned: the task is simple enough: forgiveness 
 must generally be asked of parents or teachers to begin with ; 
 and they, if they are Christians, can be best trusted to awaken 
 sorrow for the transgression, without needless terrifying. The 
 1 See Newman's Sermons, vol. iii. serm. 18.
 
 246 Ttie Use of Penitence. 
 
 priest alone absolves ; but the greater part of the transaction 
 will be under sanction of the Fifth Commandment. 
 
 Thus the youthful penitent returns to a holy childhood ; to 
 the sacred obligation of the baptismal vow ; and to the same 
 confidence as before in using the familiar accents of the 
 LORD'S Prayer. But it is evident from the very fact of his fall, 
 that baptismal grace will not suffice him very much longer. 
 Even though he sinned as a little child, he showed that he had 
 within him the germs of more masterful passions, and that the 
 time was near when he must " put away childish things." 
 Without delay, then, he must be invested with the armour of a 
 Christian soldier ; and so proceed in due course from Confirma- 
 tion to the Holy Eucharist itself. Now the expectation of a 
 first Communion ought to affect the question of penitence quite 
 as much as does the recollection of baptism. For already the 
 soul is preparing for the most sacred and awful of all 
 intercourse of man with his Maker. We must not, indeed, 
 look to find " an old head on young shoulders ; " but when the 
 object is to instil awe into this first approach to the Holy of 
 holies, too much pains can hardly be taken. Not that the 
 most earnest desire to make a first communion impressive will 
 render previous confession indispensable, if there be no other 
 reason for confessing. This is a relative, not an absolute 
 necessity, of which the only test is the state of the conscience. 
 In primitive times, so far as we know, all the faithful com- 
 municated weekly, children included ; x and sacramental 
 confession was not practised, except for grievous crimes. 
 And with us, too, one would say that the lambs of the flock 
 are not to be forced through this gate indiscriminately, if they 
 have not been found erring from the right path. But the 
 question is now of those who have fallen how to present them 
 " holy and clean at the Heavenly Feast " how to bring them 
 to eat and drink with their Saviour, the King of kings. 
 
 1 For this statement, the authorities quoted are the Second Canon of 
 the Council of Antioch, A.D. 341, and the Ninth Apostolical Canon, which is 
 thought to have been borrowed from Antioch. Compare the Apostol. 
 Constitutions, book viii. chap. xii. (See also Smith and Cheetham's Diet, 
 of Christian Antiquities, Art. "Holy Communion;" and Hefele's Hist, of 
 the Councils, E.T. vol. i. p. 454 ; vol. ii. p. 67.)
 
 Relation of Penitence to the two Sacraments of the Gospel. 247 
 
 We must think, then, of after-consequences ; and the 
 prospect does certainly add fresh importance to the seeking of 
 pardon for past transgressions. Even under the old Covenant, 
 sanctification of worshippers was held essential before partaking 
 of the Paschal rites. It would be a terrible offence were any to 
 approach wilfully impenitent to that solemn Memorial wherein 
 CHRIST is still offered as slain, the true Paschal Lamb, for the 
 sins of all of us. The very fact that we approach must mean, 
 if it means anything, that we renounce for our own part the 
 sins which crucified Him. Else we mock those sacred wounds, 
 and that atoning Blood. Therefore all penitence, which has 
 the Holy Eucharist for its motive, is as if one cried to GOD, 
 " Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean : wash me, and 
 I shall be whiter than snow. . . . The sacrifice of GOD is a 
 troubled spirit : a broken and contrite heart, O GOD, shalt 
 Thou not despise. . . . Then shalt Thou be pleased with the 
 Sacrifice of righteousness ; " which I join in offering, by Thy 
 command. 
 
 In the same way, the thought of being invited to feed on 
 CHRIST, and to that mutual indwelling with Him, though it 
 cannot make absolution necessary where there has not been 
 deadly sin, is a reason for taking the utmost pains to recover 
 purity if there has. At best, the language of Catholic piety 
 will be, " LORD, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come 
 under my roof." But when the LORD'S coming is to be for the 
 first time, and the young heart should have been kept whole 
 and untainted, "shining as in its angell-infancy I" 1 Will it not 
 be worth while to use all diligence at once to restore the 
 prospect of peace, aye, and of glory, to this fresh and vigorous 
 soul, formed to inherit heaven ? Surely, if ever there be 
 repentance which causes joy among the angels of GOD, it is 
 when that word Absolvo has cleared away the stain and brought 
 back a lamb such as this to the safe fold ? Think of the 
 childish lips opened to receive that living Bread the un- 
 speakable riches of the Redeemer's love going with His gift of 
 His own true Body ! What may not be accomplished in an 
 existence thus early devoted, early taken into the embrace of 
 1 Henry Vaughan's Silex Scintillans : " The Retreate."
 
 248 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 the LORD of life and death ? And yet for the present all this 
 is precluded : the evil that this child has done must be put 
 away, before any good can follow. And to put that away is, 
 even now, a great task, a mighty loosing. We can only come 
 to Him yes, for our most childish faults who " hath left 
 power to His Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent 
 and believe in Him." 
 
 Other bright expectations there are, which cluster round the 
 first communion. Somewhat dimly perceived thus early, they 
 are yet within range, and visible to the beginnings of faith. 
 Such are the fruits of those great gifts of the HOLY GHOST, the 
 possession of which makes life indeed worth living. Bestowed 
 upon the young Christian at his anointing in Confirmation, these 
 are to be constantly quickened, sustained, and increased by the 
 sacramental feeding; since then, and only then, 1 do we have 
 free access to the treasure of spiritual power abiding in the 
 person of the risen LORD. " It was the good pleasure of the 
 FATHER that in Him should all the fulness dwell" words to be 
 remembered in their bearing on a promise, scarcely to be appre- 
 ciated without them, that "he that eateth of this Bread shall 
 live for ever." It is true that, when we ask for results within 
 our cognisance; we may feel low-spirited at the little we can lay 
 hold of. The " hidden leaven " baffles us by the obscurity of its 
 process ; the world " beholdeth not, neither knoweth " the in- 
 dwelling Comforter. And yet perhaps the tokens of grace are 
 more visible, on the whole, in early years, than under the 
 universal sameness of middle age. A true-hearted elder sister, 
 a boy fighting hard for the right " among lions " at a public 
 school these are quickly seen to be under guidance from the 
 Spirit of GOD. The LORD is with His young communicants, 
 and leads them on, and works with them, and makes "the rough 
 places plain." 
 
 But if blessings like these are to flow from the first Eucharist, 
 
 1 Only then, inasmuch as that is the royal road the " living way " 
 which He made to be a new access for us " through the veil, that is, His 
 Flesh." But we do not disparage acts of spiritual communion. The 
 Fathers explain both S. John vi. and xv. broadly, of a participation of 
 CHRIST by the faithful, without particularly specifying the Blessed 
 Sacrament.
 
 Relation of Penitence to the two Sacraments of the Gospel. 249 
 
 it is evident that the youthful guest must have laid aside any 
 weight of sin that held him down. For the course before him 
 is almost like Isaiah's " mounting up with wings as eagles." It 
 is immense freedom : it is to be a prince in his FATHER'S house: 
 it is the early stage of what S. Paul calls " the liberty of the 
 glory of the children of GOD." And so here, again, we see 
 how a necessity may exist for Absolution ; not merely to 
 cleanse, but to untie the constraining bonds of sin ; that each 
 young communicant may know and embrace what so few, 
 alas ! really comprehend our full liberty in the Gospel of 
 CHRIST. 
 
 How natural, how congenial to a happy childlike character, 
 is this freedom of soul ! How almost impossible to attain, for 
 those who have dwelt long in the dark prison-house ! Who 
 would not make the most of that "accepted time," when perhaps 
 the only hindrance is a sin which dates from yesterday ? For 
 our children, one half protests against the sadness of Keble's 
 thought, when he pictures them as struggling up to the brilliant 
 palace of the king 
 
 " Round many a nook of deepest gloom, 
 Up many a broken wearying stair." 
 
 And yet it is well that all who love those children should feel 
 
 that 
 
 " The handmaid Penance hath been there, 
 And swept and garnished all the place." * 
 
 Then, with confidence, may we add our petition, " Ut veniens 
 Dominus noster Jesus Christus . . . paratam sibi in illis 
 inveniat mansionem." 2 
 
 On the whole, one regards absolution for the young with 
 peculiar thankfulness, because the chains to be broken then are 
 light, and the knots not greatly tangled : because the deliverance 
 is full and free, and the future rich in promise. Precious time 
 has indeed been wasted ; yet, still, the labourer returns to the 
 vineyard in the morning coolness, under light of the rising 
 sun. 
 
 1 Keble, Lyra Innocentium : " Disuse of Infant Communion." 
 
 2 From the Prceparatio ad Missani (Roman).
 
 250 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 Next we must look on to a later stage of Christian service. 
 We dare not say that the communicant's absolution will then 
 have less effect than it possessed at the beginning ; or that con- 
 fession may be abandoned at the advance of riper years. There 
 is no limitation of age for those to whom the Church's invitation 
 is issued. Seniors, who are about to fulfil the Easter duty, may 
 still do well to " open their grief" beforehand to a " discreet and 
 learned minister of GOD'S word." When thoughtful men and 
 women lay their burden down before the Cross, they have reason 
 to know how heavy that burden is ; and their thankfulness, and 
 deep sense of relief, are proportionate. So too their burnt- 
 offering, their dedication of "themselves, their souls and bodies," 
 is more a "reasonable service" than a little child's could ever 
 be. But, comparisons apart, the relation of Absolution to 
 the Eucharist can never be altered in essentials. If a soul 
 has been bound, through its own fault, in the chains of sin, it 
 cannot approach the Royal Feast till it is loosed, and the right 
 way to loose it is by sacramental absolution. This may happen 
 a hundred times in a lifetime. We are content in these days to 
 share the reproach of laxness with S. Chrysostom, rather than 
 revive the harshness of ante-Nicene discipline. None are 
 excluded now from penitence except by their own obstinacy. 
 On the other hand, none are required to use this preparation if 
 they are not tied and bound. That was the rule for the little 
 child : it is the same for the grey-haired man. 
 
 However, in the experience of many of the humblest and 
 holiest Christians, the use of penitence becomes certainly more 
 indispensable as they proceed on life's journey. Its frequency, 
 of course, must depend on the opportunities they have, both for 
 that and for Communion itself. But so long as they are com- 
 municants at GOD'S altar, they never ask themselves the question 
 whether there is another alternative besides confession. We can 
 do no good by exaggeration here (as was fully allowed in a 
 former chapter). But it is not exaggeration, when a soul deeply 
 penetrated with sorrow for love of GOD reckons, as grievous, 
 things of its own doing which, to a less earnest spirit, would 
 occasion no regret at all. S. Chrysostom, in commenting on the 
 Beatitudes, notes a difference between virtues exercised in timid
 
 Relation of Penitence to the two Sacraments of the Gospel. 251 
 
 moderation, and the saintly standard, exceeding great and high. 1 
 And he instances the second Beatitude : Saints do not merely 
 sorrow, but mourn, for their sins. Such mourners will ever be 
 moved to seek their " comfort " through the word of pardon 
 spoken in CHRIST'S Name. But although careful to do this, 
 they are not restrained by fear from approaching afterwards 
 to feed on the LORD'S Body. Such fear as they have is GOD'S 
 "punishment;" 2 but "what son is he whom the father chasteneth 
 not ?" Rather, each communion brings them nearer to a 
 state of " perfect love," from which fear is cast out. For 
 their life is now, more and more, "hid with CHRIST in GOD;" 
 and that which is of CHRIST within them has found a home 
 there so long, that they can scarce conceive the possibility 
 of their losing Him again. "My sheep hear My voice, and 
 I know them, and they follow Me, and I give unto them 
 eternal life ; and they shall never perish, and no one shall 
 snatch them out of My Hand." 
 
 Then, farther, as the celestial food of the Eucharist has been 
 at all times given to support the Christian on his road to heaven; 
 so, more particularly, should it be desired at the hour of death ; 
 when the spirit is about to return, disembodied, to the GOD who 
 gave it. No other stay but this remains : none of the living can 
 accompany the dead in that awful flight : only if united 3 to an 
 all-merciful Saviour who never dies, may one pass the dread 
 gulf in safety. Thus the last communion of the dying has 
 received its name of viaticum ; and one might almost fancy the 
 angel-guardian standing by, entreating with deeper significance 
 than to the prophet of old, " Arise and eat, because the journey 
 is too great for thee ! " 
 
 But then, there must be a corresponding solemnity about 
 the last absolution. The confession, indeed, uttered under great 
 bodily weakness, cannot enter much into details ; but yet it is 
 the final outpouring of contrition for the unworthiness of a life- 
 
 1 See S. Chrysostom (in S. Matt. Horn, xv.) : 6 /*&> 
 
 See i S. John iv. 18 ; where our Revisers have done well to translate 
 KoXaa-iv by " punishment," instead of " torment." 
 
 3 Communion is more than fj-eroxri : it is a-vvd<j>eia. (See S. Chrysostom 
 on i Cor. x. 16.)
 
 252 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 time ; and the pardon which it obtains is to remove the last 
 weight which could depress the emancipated spirit, uprising to 
 meet its LORD. Does it often fail to obtain that last acceptance 
 which it craves ? Surely not. Jeremy Taylor, indeed, warns us 
 that "sickness is not a fit station for a penitent;" 1 and the 
 insecurity of a death-bed conversion has become proverbial. 
 Yet he allows that such patience and contempt of the world as 
 are to be learned in sickness may dispose one admirably to 
 receive the Divine favour ; and moreover that the occurrence of 
 sickness is in itself, as it were, an invitation to humble oneself 
 under the mighty Hand of GOD. So that wherever a man has 
 lived well before this comes to him, one may hope that his last 
 confession, feeble and scanty as it sounds, may be the expression 
 of a deeper and more fervent love, and a more absolute sincerity, 
 than any that went before. 
 
 With the words of pardon, and the Viaticum, a departing 
 soul has all that is most essential : " Convertere, anima mea, in 
 requiem tuam, quia Dominus benefecit tibi ; quia eripuit animam 
 meam de morte, oculos meos a lacrymis, pedes meos a lapsu. 
 Placebo Domino in regione vivorum." Those are the two 
 things, possessing which, we need not fear to conclude our war- 
 fare in the Church militant. 
 
 The last Unction is far less important. Yet it has long 
 occupied a certain recognised place in the penitential system, 
 and should not be ignored. 
 
 In the well-known passage from S. James, a two-fold object 
 is proposed. The Church would procure health both for the 
 body and for the soul of the sick person. The idea of obtaining 
 physical relief by "prayer-oil" 2 implies that the patient is in 
 extremis ; because the relief is evidently a boon extraordinary. 
 " Luke the beloved physician " would not have approved of 
 setting aside regular scientific treatment, until medical skill had 
 done its best, and had failed. This is quite clear : and we 
 should therefore expect that the spiritual healing would also be 
 subsidiary to other regular ministrations. Another thing to 
 
 1 See Jeremy Taylor's Holy Dying, sect. vi. ("Advantages of Sickness"). 
 
 2 Prayer-oil is the Eastern name for the fifth of the seven " Mysteries 
 of the Holy Church."
 
 Relation of Penitence to the two Sacraments of the Gospel. 253 
 
 observe is that this must always have been distinct from Abso- 
 lution. S. Chrysostom may perhaps have thought otherwise, 1 
 (though o-uyx w pv has not exactly the same meaning as d^ievcu), 
 but the more natural construction is to keep it separate. 
 Unction is a separate transaction there are to be two elders 
 present, or more, who having anointed the sick, pray for him, 
 soul and body together ; and the double result follows : " the 
 LORD shall raise him up, and if he have committed sins, it shall 
 be forgiven him." The prayers in the Liturgy of Serapion, and 
 in that of the eighth book of the Apostolical Constitutions, have 
 the same two-fold end in view. They recognise the great danger 
 which threatens the dying from Satan's assaults, and intreat that 
 the oil may be a protection against evil spirits, and a medicine 
 of life and salvation. 2 Like S. James, they set the bodily cure 
 before the spiritual ; which was natural in early times, when 
 healing of wounds on a large scale was expected to follow from 
 the use of consecrated oil.s But the other, greater object is 
 plainly included too. And one can see how inevitable it was 
 that in course of time 4 the position of these two should be 
 reversed, and health of soul come to be almost the only thing 
 contemplated. It is hardly necessary to consult history for this : 
 one feels that so it must have been. Miracles of healing were 
 indeed thought credible, up to the twelfth century and later ; 
 but records of cures wrought by regular ministrations in the 
 Church would not often be forthcoming. The Church had to 
 face this difficulty, that " the prayer of faith " now very rarely 
 
 1 See S. Chrys. (De Sacerdot. lib. iii. 6) : [o! ic 
 dfj.a.prrj/j.ara. a<r6et>ei ydp ns, <$>t\aiv, fv vfj.lv; K.T.\. 
 
 - See the Liturgy of Sarapion, iv. 17 ; Apostol. Constit. viii. 29. (It is 
 well that we have these early notices of sacramental unction, and one still 
 earlier from The Testament of the Lord, to add to the somewhat uncertain 
 and disputable authority of the Epistle to Decentius.) 
 
 3 See S. Jerome's Life of S. Hilarion the Hermit, chap, xxxii. and xliv. 
 Possibly oil, even unblessed, was considered a specific for healing wounds, 
 as in the parable of the Good Samaritan. A curious instance of another 
 sort is that of Venantius Fortunatus (sixth cent.), who was thought to have 
 cured himself of blindness by applying oil from a lamp at S. Martin's 
 altar. (See Smith's Diet. Chr. Biography.} 
 
 Father Puller, in his researches into this subject, has found proofs 
 that, by the eighth century, both in East and West, Unction had begun to 
 be considered a sacrament of spiritual health for the dying.
 
 254 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 "saved the sick" from a fatal termination to his sickness, though 
 the oil had not been forgotten. But then, might not the other, 
 the greater healing, be hoped for still ? Though the angel of 
 death must come at GOD'S appointed hour, was there any reason 
 why the spirits of evil should not be repulsed ? Could it be 
 thought that the spiritual blessing was evacuated through absence 
 of good physical conditions ? As well might one argue that ab- 
 solution was bound to fail, unless palsied bodies were brought 
 together with diseased souls to Him who " hath power on earth 
 to forgive sins." Thus a sacramental use of Extreme Unction 
 became by degrees established, in the shape now familiar to most 
 Catholic countries. The course of a fatal malady would generally 
 not be arrested ; but the soul might be held up in its last weak- 
 ness : not "suffered, for any pains of death, to fall from GOD." 
 Indeed, the last Unction would come to be regarded almost as 
 a second Confirmation : a heavenly " love, joy, and peace," suc- 
 ceeded to the cruel work of the tempter ; and the oil was " oil 
 of gladness," cheering the dying Christian till " the days of his 
 mourning were ended." 1 (Thus the 1549 Prayer Book mentions 
 particularly " comfort, relief, and gladness"} 
 
 This use of Unction is not likely ever to become popular. 
 The modern fancies about " faith-healing " are all concerned 
 with physical ailments. And, certainly, the oil may be tried 
 for that, when other means have failed. 2 But such a re- 
 source can scarcely have been intended for these times, so 
 much as those for which S. James wrote. We should think, 
 rather, that medical skill and good nursing have been prospered 
 by the HOLY SPIRIT, to bring them to their present perfection 
 for our benefit ; and our first duty is to be thankful for the 
 prospect of hope which those provide. " Give place to the 
 physician, for the LORD hath created him : let him not go from 
 thee, for thou hast need of him. There is a time when in their 
 hands there is good success. For they shall also pray unto the 
 
 1 The prayer in Apost. Const, viii. 20 runs, 6e6s 6 Sous . . . eXaiov rov 
 IXapCvai Trp6<ruirov etj aya\\iafj.a ev<f>poffvvt)S. 
 
 - The author has had opportunities of seeing, in one case, relief from 
 pain, and in another complete recovery ensue from the application of 
 hallowed oil. In the former instance the relief was very striking, though 
 not continued for many hours.
 
 Relation of Penitence to the two Sacraments of the Gospel. 255 
 
 LORD, that He would prosper that which they give for ease 
 and remedy to prolong life." The Unction of the sick may 
 still be medicinal, if GOD wills ; but its proper purpose is 
 not to supplant the physician. Its proper purpose is to 
 fortify souls against the pains of death, by special sacramental 
 grace. 
 
 One must admit that that prophylactic intention is simpler 
 to understand than another, which remains to be mentioned. 
 The last Unction is also proposed to our notice as retrospective 
 and penitential. The apostle S. James says nothing about 
 cheering and gladdening the soul. 1 We are left to infer, that, 
 when the devil is driven back, joy will return with the presence 
 of the Blessed Comforter ; or to believe this from the symbolical 
 meaning attached to anointing, in the Old Testament. But what 
 S. James does say is that " [even] if he have committed sins," 
 he shall have forgiveness. Here is a difficulty, in connection 
 with sacramental penitence. For, if the dying have committed 
 any grievous sins, and are not absolved, how can " prayer-oil " 
 bring about their pardon ? If they have received absolution 
 and the Viaticum, what sins can remain, for which they need 
 forgiveness ? Roman Catholic divines reply, that there is still 
 a residuum of evil, which they term fomes peccati, which the 
 Church's charity would remove before the last breath is breathed. 
 Or, sometimes, they say that this sacrament purges the organs 
 of sense, which will have been so often, during the lifetime, 
 avenues of temptation. Sometimes they speak of venial faults 
 which the Absolution left, which dealt only with the greater : 
 sometimes they allude to a languor and infirmity which remain as 
 after-consequences of the sins actually forgiven. None of these 
 explanations seems quite to correspond to the language used, 
 
 KO.V (l/xaprtas y TreTroirjKws, ac^e&jcrcTai avrw. But perhaps WC can find 
 
 no better solution. What is easy to understand is, that the 
 Church's loving offices must follow her children to the very end, 
 and that prayers ought not to be slack even after Holy Com- 
 munion, because the soul's trial cannot be completed until the 
 moment of dissolution. Thus, in the hour of extremest weak- 
 
 1 For (as Father Puller shows) the words c-wcm and eyepet must apply to 
 the body.
 
 256 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 ness, when neither words nor thoughts are well under control, 
 the Church takes the poor exhausted frame, soothes and blesses 
 its helplessness, and consigns it once more to a " mercy that is 
 greater than the heavens." 
 
 Can there be penitence after death ? Perfect souls may 
 still have contrition, when they wear their robes " made white 
 in the blood of the Lamb," and remember what it cost to redeem 
 them and bring them to Paradise. Or again, they may be 
 accounted penitents in respect of the fervent intercessions 
 whereby they contribute to the deliverance of " the whole 
 Church militant " from her burden of sin and shame. A larger 
 question is as regards the multitude of imperfect souls, recon- 
 ciled but not fully cleansed, before they quitted their corruptible 
 bodies. 1 These indeed cannot now " work out their own salva- 
 tion," any more than they can " shrink back unto perdition ; " 
 yet one would think that they must pass their time of longing 
 expectation in a state between joy and sorrow, and that there 
 remains some degree of pain in the recollection of their great 
 coldness, and many wasted opportunities. Moreover, S. Augus- 
 tine speaks as if some of those who " having been regenerated 
 in CHRIST, did not spend their lives either well or very wickedly," 
 would be saved through the compassionate prayers of saints, 
 living or departed ; 2 and surely such charity, bestowed on those 
 thus helplessly waiting^ must tend to a very deep conscious- 
 ness of personal demerit in the recipients. And yet we know 
 very little, that we can be sure of. Even the most imperfect, if 
 they sought the LORD in time, are saved : they are in peaceful 
 possession of an eternal security: they are with CHRIST, and in 
 
 1 It is noteworthy, that the Revisers of 1661 made amends for the 
 neglect of a hundred years, by introducing a form of Commendation 
 of the soul, which fully recognises the need of cleansing when life's trial 
 is ended. (See Visitation Office.) 
 
 2 See S. Aug. (De Civ. Dei. lib. xxi. cap. xxiv.). 
 
 3 Some have pictured the departed as longing to succour the 
 distressed on earth, and full of grief because they could not could not, 
 because, as S. Bernard says, " Corpus necessarium est ad agendam 
 pcenitentiam." (See, for instance, Dickens' Christmas Carol.) This need 
 not affect the question of prayers for others offered out of the body, 
 even by imperfect souls. (See Mr. Stone's Outlines of Christian Dogma, 
 p. 263).
 
 Relation of Penitence to the two Sacraments of the Gospel. 257 
 
 Him they live. It is not easy to conceive a state of punishment 
 for such, even though they were " prisoners of hope." When 
 Dante ascended the slopes of his purgatorial mountain, he 
 met sometimes with those who sang a plaintive Miserere: but 
 he came also where the air was ringing with the triumph of the 
 Te Deum.
 
 258 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Conversion. 
 
 THE Church's system of Penitence has now been followed to 
 the end : but its relation to Conversion has still to be con- 
 sidered, and is of great importance. What ideas of inward 
 change does this word convey to our apprehension ? I shall 
 endeavour to explain, first, the right meaning of conversion, 
 and its proper place in Catholic belief and practice. Next, 
 to draw a dividing line between this and a " notional " con- 
 version incompatible with honest repentance. And lastly, to 
 show how the genuine conversion is in perfect accord with 
 a reverent use of sacraments, and the inseparable companion 
 of contrition, confession, and satisfaction. 
 
 Some will tell us that a " healthy " mind needs no con- 
 version : that, whenever such cravings are manifested, they are 
 most probably neurotic, or developed from some form of 
 hereditary disease. We may leave that for physiologists to 
 decide if they can. We are on much safer ground when we 
 state Catholic doctrine, than we should be if we discussed 
 varieties of constitution and temperament. 
 
 I. The true significance of the word is simple enough. 
 Conversio ad Deum. The supreme and sovereign will of GOD 
 must be obeyed, sooner or later, by all His intelligent creatures. 
 By the angels, holy and elect, a perfect response has been made 
 from the beginning. These " excel in strength," because they 
 " hearken unto the voice of His word," alway beholding His 
 Face. Evil spirits, on the contrary, are rebels against GOD ; 
 but His strong "chains" restrain them even now, and at the 
 last Day their captivity will be made absolute and unchange-
 
 Conversion. 259 
 
 able. Between angel and devil stands man, having that 
 probation still to undergo which in their case has been longtime 
 decided. For although, at last, man must needs " fall into the 
 hands of the living GOD," before whom none may " stand when 
 He appeareth " for judgment ; yet in this life every human 
 being has the responsibility of choosing, or rejecting, the 
 service of his Maker. By conversion, then, is meant the act of 
 a soul freely choosing to live for, and to love, GOD above all 
 things. The instance of S. Peter is perhaps the very best that 
 can be found in the Bible. JESUS saith, " Simon, son of John, 
 lovest thou Me ? " When Simon Peter heard that, he knew 
 and recognised the voice of Him whom he had confessed as 
 GOD incarnate : here was his true and only GOD claiming the 
 whole affection of his heart. And his answer, " LORD, Thou 
 knowest all things ; Thou knowest that I love Thee," could 
 have meant no less, than that the great apostle was now " con- 
 verted," 1 and fit to "strengthen his brethren," as JESUS had 
 said that he should. It is essential that love should go with 
 conversion. A converted soul does not merely abase itself 
 before an infinite and Almighty Ruler whom it feels unable to 
 resist. Rather it is moved by the attraction of Divine love to 
 a devotion which is spontaneous a " whole burnt-offering." 
 Hence the knowledge of GOD must come first. GOD speaks to 
 the soul, and then the soul hearkens, and " turns to see the 
 Voice which speaks with it." As it turns, it is drawn by that 
 eternal beauty, transfigured by the glory of that love ; so that 
 the will becomes fixed in a resolve to follow and serve GOD "all 
 the days, even to the end." 
 
 Now, this being a great and serious choice, many have 
 supposed that it requires the strength of the full-grown to make 
 it. Yet can we be right 'to exclude those of tender years ? 
 Not if we remember the child Samuel, or the great fore- 
 runner, " filled with the HOLY GHOST even from his mother's 
 womb." And surely, if sins begin, for so many children, with 
 their attaining years of discretion (as we saw in Chap, xii.), the 
 
 1 The word (in S. Luke xxii. 32) is eVwrp^as : " when thou hast 
 turned again," R.V. On the numerous passages where ivi<fTp^<{>fiv occurs, 
 see Dr. Mason's Ministry of Conversion, p. 2.
 
 260 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 choice of holiness must be open to them quite as soon. All 
 one can say is that, at all ages, the more any human being 
 knows of GOD not by "serene philosophy," 1 but by the 
 earnest search of a soul looking up from the troubled sea of 
 pitiless moral evil the stronger will be his impulse of love to 
 Godward. Whereas, without knowledge, it is hardly possible 
 that he can love sincerely. Christian children therefore may, 
 and do sometimes, repeat the experience of Samuel ; while 
 still, the more usual order is for the fifth commandment to be 
 embraced before the first parents indeed training their children 
 for GOD, yet of necessity drawing to themselves the regard which 
 their little ones cannot lift so high as to the great Unseen. 
 
 In one way it is possible that the very young have an 
 advantage. " Except ye turn, and become as little children," is 
 certainly not to be understood as if childish ignorance could be 
 the chief factor in conversion. What it does mean is, that our 
 obedience to Him who calls us should be entirely humble and 
 simple ; and this in old age as truly as in childhood. But then 
 we find ourselves asking, Are humility and simplicity quite so 
 congenial to old age, as to childhood ? 
 
 Let us observe also that, while a choice between good and 
 evil is imperative, a converted person is not of necessity one 
 who has been a great sinner. His turning is not obliged to be 
 returning.* The paths which he avoids he may never have 
 trodden. Though not entirely blameless, he has not left his 
 heavenly citizenship, to wander away into a far country. If so, 
 then, again, the young may be better disposed than their 
 elders, for offering their whole heart to GOD ; because the 
 young are less likely to have to retrace their steps before they 
 come to His presence. There must be cases in which baptismal 
 grace has met with so little resistance, that these true children 
 of GOD " obey " their FATHER in heaven " as soon as they hear 
 of Him." Then, conversion is like the opening of a flower-bud 
 to the morning sun : you would say that the trial in renouncing 
 evil was scarcely felt to be a trial at all. " LORD, to whom 
 
 1 See Isaac Williams' sonnet on Origen, in the Lyra Apostolica. 
 
 2 Compare edv py ffTpaQTJTe (5. Matt, xviii. 3) with tir<rrpeij/a. /3\^7reiy TTJV 
 
 (Rev. i. 12).
 
 Conversion. 261 
 
 shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life." " Whom 
 have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is none upon earth that 
 I desire beside Thee." " In Origen," says Bishop Westcott, 
 " we have the first record of a Christian boyhood, and he was 
 great from the cradle. As a child he entered into the study of 
 Scripture with eager devotion. . . . His father silently thanked 
 GOD for the promise which he gave for the future." 1 S. Vincent 
 of Paul, keeping his father's sheep when a child, had a hollow 
 oak for shelter, where he arranged for himself a little oratory, 
 and spent much time in prayer. 2 We English are, perhaps 
 rightly, suspicious of precocious piety. We say that even 
 baptized children will at times yield to that phronema sarkos 
 which is " not subject to the Law of GOD." Thus, we 
 were brought up from the first to expect to have to resist 
 desires conflicting with the will of GOD. We were taught, 
 among the earliest lessons of all, to " renounce the devil and all 
 his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all 
 covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the 
 flesh." And yet, when we think of the holy and healthful 
 influences which have centered in numberless Christian homes, 
 can we doubt that many of their inmates, women especially, 
 have grown up for GOD from the very first, in heart and mind ? 
 The word conversion is not entirely applicable to such as 
 these ; because to turn to GOD may seem to imply that the 
 face had previously been set in another direction, away from 
 Him. But if the child-saints have no need to turn, there must 
 at all events be a day when they awake and rise up to the 
 love of GOD a day in which they first exert their wills in 
 conscious response to their baptismal calling. So that, even for 
 them, one must speak of a vital change, the passage from a 
 "spirit sealed by si umber "3 to consciousness of life in the HOLY 
 GHOST. It is very important to have right notions about this. 
 Some eager advocates of baptismal regeneration have allowed 
 
 1 From Westcott's article " Origenes," in the Dictionary of Christian 
 Biography (Smith and Wace). 
 
 2 See Life of S. Vincent de Paul, by Mrs. R. F. Wilson, p. 8. 
 
 3 The expression is Wordsworth's, and although he was writing on the 
 heaviness of grief, the words are not inappropriate to the half-wakened 
 apprehension of a child.
 
 262 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 little or no play to the moral choice in childhood. Others, 
 equally enthusiastic for conversion, have almost persuaded 
 themselves that there is no such thing as a childhood sanctified. 
 
 These might have learned better from S. John : " I have 
 written unto you, little children, 1 because ye know the FATHER," 
 but the other error is to be avoided also, and it is one to which 
 High Churchmen have been not a little liable. 
 
 Very beautiful is the early self-devotion of a young Chris- 
 tian, who simply follows " the only GOD." Surely, among the 
 " great cloud of witnesses " unseen, who " compass him about," 
 there are saints and angels who pray with full assurance of hope, 
 Arise, shine, O happy one, for thy light is come, and the glory 
 of the LORD is risen upon thee ! 
 
 But hopeful too are the grave conversions of older penitents; 
 though they, after long years spent in sin, bring what only 
 infinite mercy could deign to accept. As we quoted from 
 S. Jerome in a former chapter, " There is no sin so grievous 
 that GOD will not heal it, except that which despairs of His 
 healing." And therefore there is always hope for those who 
 turn. Now, indeed, the effort of will has to be greater than in 
 the case of those whom we thought of a little while ago. 
 S. Augustine has described, from his own experience, the 
 tremendous hold that evil habits have, if long indulged in. 2 
 That is not apparent in the parable of the prodigal son, where 
 all the pleasure in wickedness is shown to be at an end, leaving 
 only a slave's portion, and famine. But in real life the conflict 
 often goes on, just as in the seventh chapter of Romans : the 
 will, that has yielded so many times, still longing for what 
 the conscience wholly condemns. Added to which there is, 
 commonly, either a dread of GOD'S anger, or, at least, much 
 habitual distrust of self. Once, that might have been a safe- 
 guard : now, it is only suggestive of despair, and makes any 
 
 1 -a-atSia (not reKvla as before.) He seems to mean those actually 
 children, distinguishing them from TTOT^S and vtavlffnoi, to be mentioned 
 soon after. 
 
 2 Confess, viii. chap. v. See also S. Bernard (De Convcrs. ad Cleric, cap. 
 vi.) : " Dura suis quibusque membris in hunc modum leges promulgat . . . 
 interrumpunt subito vocem jubentis, et uno impetu clamant, unde base 
 nova religio ? "
 
 Conversion, 263 
 
 improvement appear impossible. When, then, all these obstacles 
 have been overcome through the strength of a soul's longing to 
 recover a heavenly FATHER'S love, one can well understand that 
 there is joy among the angels. The pilgrim has regained the 
 heavenward road, only to find a steep crag frowning down upon 
 him, which he must climb with weary and bleeding feet ; and 
 yet he is not discouraged. The sailor resumes his voyage, 
 though beyond the harbour's mouth he can see the white crests 
 of waves, and hears their threatening roar. If " the way of 
 transgressors is hard," 1 their conversion also is hard, at the 
 beginning. What nerves them to the task is their simple faith 
 in CHRIST their Mediator and Advocate. Thousands fall 
 beside them often after struggling forward for a little way 
 but the converted press on over every barrier, because they 
 love GOD. 
 
 The true conversion, as we must not forget, is that which 
 contemplates a definite work to be done for GOD. " I thought 
 on my ways, and turned my feet unto Thy testimonies. I made 
 haste, and delayed not, to observe Thy Commandments." One 
 after another, the old temptations are to be met and conquered. 
 Satan is to be cast out by prayer and fasting. Instead of 
 pride, wrath, and covetousness, the awakened heart is to be 
 ruled by love, joy, peace. Wasted hours are to be redeemed : 
 the service which dates from the eleventh hour must be 
 unsparing of self. 2 All these difficulties are freely embraced, 
 by one who believes that GOD'S goodness calls him, and GOD'S 
 grace is sufficient for him. But we must remember, also, that 
 acceptance of such a plan of entire reformation will be gradual, 
 for this reason, that what lies before a penitent and faithful 
 soul is never revealed except by slow degrees. How little of 
 the future did our LORD make plain to S. Peter ! " It is not 
 for you to know." " Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me 
 now, but thou shalt follow Me afterwards." " I have yet many 
 things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." So, at 
 the first moment of conversion, the awakened spirit realises, 
 indeed, always some one well-marked step, the beginning of its 
 turning to GOD; but there is much beyond, which it cannot 
 1 Prov. xiii. 15. 2 See S. Bernard, De Convers. ad Cleric, cap. xi.
 
 264 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 bear to contemplate as yet. And as each fresh point of duty 
 is perceived, there must always be a fresh movement of the will, 
 consenting to what is required. This is to go " from strength 
 to strength." It has been compared to mountain travelling, in 
 which lower ranges show themselves first, and then, when these 
 have been surmounted, higher peaks behind, up to the summit. 
 George Herbert has this idea : 
 
 " At length I got unto the gladsome hill, 
 
 Where lay my hope, 
 Where lay my heart ; and climbing still, 
 When I had gain'd the brow and top, 
 A lake of brackish waters on the ground 
 
 Was all I found. 
 
 " With that abash'd, and struck with many a sting 
 
 Of swarming fears, 
 I fell, and cry'd, Alas, my king ; 
 Can both the way and end be tears ? 
 Yet taking heart I rose, and then perceiv'd 
 I was deceiv'd : 
 
 " My hill was further," etc. (The Pilgrimage.) 
 
 Indeed, " the path of the righteous is as the shining light, which 
 shineth more and more unto the perfect day : " but it is an 
 uphill path, not to be trodden without unceasing and increasing 
 effort. We shall see as we go on how important it is to 
 remember this. When the Fathers tell us that the conversion 
 of dying persons is to be reckoned not by length of time but by 
 their minds' degree of preparedness for the last account, 1 it is 
 obvious that they speak of exceptions to the general rule. 
 GOD does not require the impossible, and so the ordinary test 
 is dispensed with, for those who have but few hours to live. 
 But in all ordinary cases, the surrender of self is attainable only 
 by a gradual process, and after long persistence. 
 
 So also in looking forward, for few years or many, we 
 cannot without rashness assert that there will never be a going 
 back from the decision once made. We are told that we "have 
 need of patience, that, having done the will of GOD, we may 
 receive the promise." Otherwise we may " shrink back," even 
 
 1 See, for instance, S. Aug. Ep. ccxxviii ; and Enchirid. Ixv.
 
 Conversion. 265 
 
 " unto perdition." Most commonly, however, what happens is 
 a temporary loss of that eager and warm affection, by which the 
 soul was first moved in its impulse towards GOD. " I have this 
 against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love." Often and 
 often there will be a re-kindling of the flame, and the once 
 wavering spirit will be more blessed in the latter end than in 
 the beginning of its trial. But it would be vain to pretend that 
 those who have chosen a Christian course never flag in after 
 years, 1 nor refuse their daily burden of duty. " Not every one 
 that saith unto Me, LORD, LORD," (as many do, sincerely, at their 
 first conversion,) " shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven ; 
 but he that doeth the will of My FATHER which is in heaven ; " 
 which, however, cannot be known till he has run his course to 
 the end, and, perhaps, renewed his repentance many times. 2 
 
 Yet those are not far from the truth who maintain that, 
 when any man has found grace to " turn to the LORD with all 
 his heart," 3 he may be expected not again to stand in need of 
 the same thorough inward change. The GOD whom Christians 
 serve by a free choice is able, says S. Jude, to "keep them from 
 falling," (nay, even to "guard them from stumbling," if we 
 accept the Revised Version). If they still fail, He is most 
 willing both to pardon, and to renew their strength. But this 
 would not be the safest way for them, because, although GOD 
 were willing, their own wills would be weaker after each lapse. 
 In point of fact, they are not bound to fail : they may have no 
 serious lapse. Very often, at least, they will go forward bravely 
 in spite of constant infirmities, " believe to the saving of the 
 soul," and continue justified by their faith. 4 For them, the 
 
 1 i S. John ii. 19 is not to the point. S. John is speaking there of 
 false apostles, whose separation from the Church could only be a question 
 of time ; whereas, if they had been honest, they would have remained. 
 There is no reference to the general question of sinning after conversion. 
 
 2 Let it be observed that this is not saying that there cannot be 
 assurance of forgiveness to the penitent after absolution, rightly 
 ministered, and received with faith and contrition. 
 
 3 Joel ii. 12. 
 
 4 So S. Augustine (Prop, ad Rom. xviii.) : " Gratia vero efficit, ut non 
 tantum velimus recte facere, sed etiam possimus ; non viribus nostris, 
 sed Liberatoris auxilio, qui nobis etiam perfectam pacem in resurrectione 
 tribuat ; quae pax perfecta bonam voluntatem consequitur."
 
 266 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 grand turning-point was once for all, when they made their 
 offering of repentance such as " bringeth no regret." 
 
 It has been a question much debated, whether one who loves 
 GOD can be assured that he shall always enjoy GOD'S love. 
 One has heard very urgent pleading that, unless we are firmly 
 persuaded of that, we cannot have the trustful affection which 
 alone is worthy of the family of GOD. But, although " the 
 Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are 
 GOD'S children," this is the consequence of a Divine leading, and 
 not an irreversible privilege. Conversion is indeed in many cases 
 the hinge on which everything will turn in time to come ; but 
 that is different from a man's pretending to know, by some 
 inward feeling, that he, personally, is saved for evermore. It is 
 true that New Testament writers speak of a " calling and 
 election made sure," and a " full assurance of hope unto the 
 end." But these are not mentioned as being a present 
 possession, but as blessings to be sought after with much care 
 and diligence. The utmost one can say is, that those who have 
 walked long with GOD enjoy a familiarity with Him by faith, 
 which increases year by year ; and which, at last, they could 
 hardly break off if they would. The " hope set before them " 
 becomes then, in very deed, " an anchor of the soul, sure and 
 stedfast, and entering into that which is within the veil." x Yet 
 even the most glorious saints have feared lest they should be 
 castaways ; and, " while some suffer great temptations in the 
 beginning of their conversion, others," without doubt, " do so in 
 the latter end." 2 The danger is not in GOD'S love, which never 
 fails ; but in the " unruly wills and affections of sinful men." 
 
 On the whole, no one has treated the question of assurance 
 better than Thomas a Kempis : "When one that was in 
 anxiety of mind, often wavering between fear and hope, did 
 once, being oppressed with grief, humbly prostrate himself in 
 a church before the altar in prayer, and said within himself, 
 
 1 One could envy the confidence of the pious Calvinist who said, " I 
 seem to myself to have been crossing one of these Highland lochs of ours 
 by night ; and am now so far across, that I can count all the lights on the 
 opposite shore." 
 
 - Imitation of Christ, book i. chap. xiii.
 
 Conversion. 267 
 
 O if I knew that I should yet persevere ! he presently heard 
 within him an answer from GOD, which said, What if thou 
 didst know it, what wouldst thou do ? Do now what thou 
 wouldest do then, and thou shalt be secure." 1 
 
 II. In our own country, the doctrine of conversion has been 
 most popular with Methodists. But, as John Wesley derived 
 it from the Moravians, and the Moravians took most of their 
 telling of it from Luther, we shall be right if we, too, trace its 
 descent from the famous champion of Wittenberg. In doing 
 which, we shall easily perceive how it came to be exaggerated 
 and abused. Luther was no mere turbulent heresiarch. 2 He 
 began by forming high ideals of what a Christian's religion 
 should be ; and it was not altogether his fault that these were 
 frustrated in practice. His notion of GOD, as " an inexorable 
 Judge demanding obedience to an impossible law," 3 was really 
 the notion commonly received in his day. Some of the 
 mystics might know better; but, in the world at large, a 
 righteous conversation was supposed unattainable ; and men 
 were to compound for their lax and vicious habits by 
 purchasing pardons or indulgences. To that way of escape, 
 neither Luther's arrogant temper would submit, nor his real 
 religious earnestness ; but his quarrel with Tetzel helped him 
 not a whit to fulfil the Divine requirements. Thus it was that 
 he came to apprehend the doctrine of imputed righteousness, 
 as a new solution of the difficulty. The doctrine itself was 
 neither new nor objectionable. S. Bernard himself had taught 
 that man can do no good work, nor merit eternal life by any 
 works of his, but all is of GOD'S free grace : that the evil that 
 man has done, cannot be undone, yet may be as though it had 
 not been, if GOD does not lay it to his charge. 4 Now, " not to 
 impute sin" hardly differs at all from Luther's tenet of an 
 imputed righteousness, with which GOD covers our sins. 5 
 
 1 Imitation of Christ, book i. chap. xxv. 
 
 2 One cannot but respect the man who called the Athanasian Creed 
 the propugnaculum of the Catholic Faith. (See note in Waterland, vol. iv. 
 p. 301.) 
 
 3 Creighton's History of the Papacy, vol. v. chap. iii. 
 
 4 S. Bernard, Serm. i. in Annunc. B.V.M. 
 
 5 See, of course, Ps. xxxii. i.
 
 268 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 However, there was decided novelty in the doctrine as by 
 him presented. All Catholic writers would have proceeded to 
 show how, when CHRIST had first paid our debt, He took us 
 into living union with Himself by our baptism ; how, by the 
 new nature therein conferred, our spiritual faculties were 
 consecrated to a real participation in His holiness, and an 
 ultimate victory over sin ; and how, " where the Spirit of the 
 LORD is, there is liberty." Luther, on the contrary, who never 
 rid himself of what " the traditional teaching and example of 
 the Middle Ages had taught him of the unbending necessities 
 of Divine justice," 1 could not comprehend the happy self- 
 conquest of a saint, nor the possibilities of human improvement 
 under GOD'S transforming grace. He refused peace of mind 
 through indulgences, but his only alternative was to believe 
 that GOD would not look at his sins. He was " not under the 
 law," because CHRIST'S Death had " redeemed him from the 
 curse of the law." There was nothing to do : only to believe in 
 this great and merciful substitution of CHRIST for the sinner. 
 That was the full and sufficient meaning of S. Paul's famous 
 saying, that " the just shall live by faith." 
 
 Of Lutheranism as a system one must not judge by looking 
 either at the character of its founder forceful and devout 
 though ill-balanced or at those wise and learned divines who, 
 in later times, have done so much for good morals 2 as well as 
 for the elucidation of Holy Scripture. Our present subject is 
 conversion ; and there can be no doubt that conversion has 
 suffered injury from its Lutheran rehandling. Instead of 
 honest efforts to do right, the tendency has been to content 
 onself with an inward persuasion of security through reliance 
 on the substituted merits of CHRIST on feelings or convictions, 
 that is, in place of obedience. Together with this, much 
 vagueness in the conception of sin and repentance. One might 
 be surprised at that, reading as one does in the first of the 
 Theses of Wittenberg, that " Our LORD and Master . . . 
 intended the whole life of believers to be penitence." But a 
 
 1 Dean Wace's Essay on Luther's Life and Teaching (Luther's 
 Primary Works, p. 428). 
 
 a As, for instance, Bishop Martensen.
 
 Conversion. 269 
 
 little further aquaintance with Luther's style shows his intention 
 to have been wholly different from that of Catholic writers. 
 By " penitence " he meant a settled conviction of the abiding 
 sinfulness of the human heart before GOD. Such sinfulness he 
 taught his disciples to think unremovable, whether by pardons 
 of man's devising, or by prayers, fasts, religious exercises of 
 any kind. It is true that, against sin, he would always set the 
 imputed righteousness of CHRIST. Still, sin was a state in 
 which all must remain to the end of their days. Enumeration 
 of sins, or distinctions between greater and less, the German 
 Reformers abhorred. The condition of fallen man was alone to 
 be deplored, and this was shared by all alike. 
 
 One can imagine the mischief that might result from such 
 teaching as this. In point of fact, the best Lutherans have 
 read their Bibles too diligently to allow themselves in 
 immorality ; and possess quite enough good sense to admit 
 that their founder's intentions were sometimes more com- 
 mendable than his arguments. Yet it is to be feared that 
 mischief has been done. There is a lax way of living which 
 confronts us now and then, combined with the utmost self- 
 satisfaction, and a measure of spiritual pride. That owes its 
 origin to the men who once made conversion a justification 
 through the feelings. 1 
 
 Another consequence has been to press for sudden con- 
 versions. Those are always the most striking, and signal as 
 examples to others ; and why should men waste time over a 
 change which is merely of conviction an acceptance of 
 established facts ? 
 
 Lastly, conversion has, under this treatment come to be 
 considered as apart from, almost hostile to, the sacramental 
 system. Not that Luther himself wished to disparage Baptism 
 and Holy Communion (even Penitence he allowed to hold its 
 place) ; but he rarely spoke of these as if they had anything to 
 do with producing, or sustaining, that new life which is of faith. 
 Sacraments were to be observed because of CHRIST'S com- 
 mand ; but the universal nostrum, " Only believe," was quite 
 
 1 It is fair to admit that no such formula was in use among Luther's 
 friends ; but practical amendment was certainly not their forte.
 
 270 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 independent of the blessings associated with altar and font. 
 And that was what became the popular religion of Protestants. 
 The other great Reformed system, Calvinism, has so lost 
 its hold upon our countrymen (even north of the Tweed), that 
 very little space need be allotted to it in this chapter. Indeed, 
 there is considerable doubt whether conversion has any proper 
 place by the side of Calvinistic predestination. And yet if 
 Calvin would only have allowed freedom to the human will, 
 there was much that was useful in his doctrine of preventing 
 grace. S. Bernard had taught that the conversion of souls is 
 " wrought by the voice of GOD, not of man." 1 And, that "the 
 book of conscience must be illumined by a ray from above," 
 else nothing will be decided as it ought. But neither S. 
 Bernard nor S. Augustine 2 would have considered the will as 
 entirely passive when GOD calls. Whereas Calvin maintained 
 that souls are born again by a special Divine choice or decree, 
 which, whenever He pleases, issues in an act of irresistible 
 power, put forth upon these His elect. There is no possibility 
 either of acceptance or of refusal on their part. " Efforts of 
 the will " (says one who here approaches the Calvinistic 
 positions), " when rational, are toilsome and tardy ; but 
 transformations of conscience happen by some new and intense 
 affection, which conscience and reason do not lead but follow. 
 We cannot expect or calculate on such a change ; but the 
 kingdom of GOD is within us." This irresistible visitation of 
 the heart by Almighty GOD, being dependent on nothing but 
 His mere pleasure, produces effects which are, of course, 
 instantaneous. This is to be said of "almost all the remarkable 
 moral recoveries that occur." Suddenness is, therefore, made 
 the test, to a much greater degree than by the Methodists. 
 And another exaggeration follows, from which Methodism is 
 wholly exempt. Luther had not dared to tell his disciples that 
 it was impossible for them to fall after their conversion. But 
 
 1 S. Bern. De Convers. ad Clcr. cap. i. and ii. 
 
 2 See S. Augustine's great sermon (clviii.) on justification : " Fides 
 ergo quae per dilectionem operatur si est in vobis, jam pertinetis ad 
 praedestinatos, vocatos, justificatos: ergo crescat in vobis. Fides enim 
 quae per dilectionem operatur, sine spe esse non potest." 
 
 3 See James Martineau's Endeavours after the Christian Life, pp. 95-97.
 
 Conversion. 271 
 
 Calvin did. And, to this day, his followers quote S. John's 
 present tenses as if they carried the future with them : 
 " Whosoever is begotten of GOD doeth no sin, because His 
 seed abideth in him : and he cannot sin, because he is 
 begotten of GOD." 
 
 Holding such opinions, it is hardly possible that men of this 
 school should trust much to sacraments. Jewel indeed, who 
 accounted Calvin " a reverent father, and worthy ornament of 
 the Church of GOD," declares that he had seen at Geneva more 
 than four thousand people receiving together at one communion; 
 so that it was " untrue " that " by M. Calvin's doctrine the 
 sacraments of CHRIST are superfluous." 1 But we should 
 remember that, where sectarian spirit is strong, a general com- 
 munion may be little more than a great church-parade. The 
 immense number mentioned by Jewel is in itself suspicious, and 
 looks as if the sacraments were only not " superfluous " at 
 Geneva because they were regarded as " badges or tokens " of a 
 particular profession of religion. However, there is no difficulty 
 in ascertaining what Calvin thought about the holy sacrament 
 of the altar. 3 It is well known that he considered the benefit of 
 communion as limited by GOD'S absolute decree ; so that therein 
 was no Bread of life, except to those already predestined to life 
 by the arbitrary Divine will. With regard to penitence, it is 
 equally known that he hated priestly absolution, even more than 
 he loved presbyterian discipline. 
 
 A good deal, therefore, has to be struck off from the popular 
 Protestant notions of conversion. It is not true that the grace 
 which begins this happy change in a man turns him irresistibly 
 to GOD, nor that it accomplishes its work in a moment, and 
 without risk of future loss. It is not true that converting grace 
 is seldom given to those of tender years. Nor, on the other 
 hand, is it true that, while our will is free, we have nothing more 
 to do, child or man, than to accept CHRIST'S obedience in place 
 of our own. We are not called to a religion of feelings and con- 
 victions, but to take up the Cross and follow JESUS. And 
 
 1 Jewel, vol. iv. p. 517. 
 
 2 For a resume of Calvin's teaching or belief, see Wilberforce on the Holy 
 Eucharist, chap. ii.
 
 272 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 lastly, the reception of sacraments has its proper and indis- 
 pensable place in forming the Christian character. 
 
 III. We may now proceed, therefore, to the relation in which 
 genuine conversion stands to sacramental penitence. 
 
 (i) One would like to insist much on the necessity of bring- 
 ing nothing less than a converted heart to enter on the way 
 which aims at reconciliation with GOD. It does not suffice that 
 a Christian should go regularly to his " duties " before Easter. 
 Small profit is there in a confession which is made only with the 
 idea of " turning over a new leaf." The one worthy motive is 
 that of self-surrender to JESUS CHRIST. Where that exists, it 
 sheds a glory over all the penitential acts. 
 
 (a) Take self-examination. Without the heart surrendered, 
 self-examination is dry, weary, and disheartening, like preparing 
 a balance-sheet in anticipation of a deficit. But when the 
 thought is present of consecrating all to GOD, instead of stop- 
 ping at the things left undone or done amiss, we see in hope 
 each gap supplied out of the riches of CHRIST ; and even our 
 deeper sins of disobedience are suggestions to us of what love 
 may do, in atoning for them by contrary acts of virtue. We 
 would dare to ask our Heavenly FATHER even to chastise His 
 children, that " afterwards " His chastening may " yield peace- 
 able fruit, in righteousness, to them that have been exercised 
 thereby." 
 
 (^) Again, the self-surrender of conversion is more even 
 than the sacrifice of a contrite heart. Sorrow for the love of 
 GOD is holy ; but it requires the addition of this to make it 
 fervent and full of promise. " My GOD, I grieve that I have 
 offended Thee by so many wilful sins. But I also venture to 
 protest that my one desire and longing is to do Thee service in 
 the time that still remains, and to the hour of my death." 
 
 (c) The same fervent love removes the sting from confession. 
 All the shame is forgotten in a feeling, almost of joy, that GOD'S 
 truth and honour should be thus vindicated. " O LORD, right- 
 eousness belongeth unto Thee, but unto us confusion of face. 
 . . . To the LORD our GOD belong mercies and forgivenesses, 
 though we have rebelled against Him." 
 
 (d} And although, upon His forgiveness granted, must ensue
 
 Conversion. 273 
 
 the upward struggle of satisfaction by word and deed ; the love 
 of a converted heart takes each burden as if it were no burden, 
 nay, thinks everything possible to which the Master calls. " He 
 that loveth, flyeth, runneth, and rejoiceth ; he is free, and cannot 
 be held in. He giveth all for all, and hath all in all, because he 
 resteth in one Highest above all things, from whom all that is 
 good flows and proceeds." 1 
 
 That is one aspect of the relation between penitence and 
 conversion. Very important, if we reflect on the number of 
 perfunctory confessions that are made, by which neither is GOD 
 glorified, nor the soul strengthened to run its appointed race. 
 Without a converted will, truly the whole field of repentance is 
 a barren waste, and the use of confession dishonouring to Him 
 who claims our hearts for Himself. 
 
 (2) But if penitential discipline derives so much of its 
 efficacy from the personal earnestness and zeal of those who 
 resort to it, we can soon see, when we reflect, that the good done 
 is reciprocal. Piety must submit to ruling : it must be set in a 
 framework if it is to be made widely useful. Some have 
 blamed the saint of Assisi for consenting to the foundation of 
 an Order for his friars : they think that by so doing he destroyed 
 the winning simplicity of his message of peace to mankind. 2 
 In reality, that was the only way to check extravagance. And 
 yet, the commanding personal influence of S. Francis would 
 have been felt by his mendicants, with or without written rules. 
 But when a soul turns to GOD from out of the solitude of its 
 own self-consciousness, unless the Church provides a method 
 and a road to follow, it may lose all the good of its conversion. 
 The disastrous consequences of a purely emotional religion are 
 indeed but too well known. 3 In order to avoid this, it has 
 occurred to some to find in a particular event or accident that 
 befell them from without, the suggestion of some special object 
 
 1 From the Imitation of Christ, book iii. chap. v. ("Of the wonderful 
 effect of Divine love.") 
 
 2 For instance, M. Sabatier, in his fascinating Life of S. Francis. 
 
 3 Pusey has called attention (in a Sermon in Rom. vii. 22-25) to the 
 abundance of Satan's resources ; and how one of his ways is " to teach 
 people to neglect the means of grace ; to make all religion rest in certain 
 feelings; to hold a belief without living in it." 
 
 T
 
 274 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 to which the rest of their lives should be consecrated. 1 GOD, 
 indeed, often seems to call men to Him by such means ; and the 
 humble-minded have wisdom to hearken and obey. But such 
 accidents are rare and uncertain, and conversion cannot wait 
 for a special conjunction of circumstances which may never 
 be granted. 2 The sacraments, on the contrary, are open to all, 
 at all times. 
 
 To begin with, there is the grace of Baptism. That enables 
 the child's heart to expand to the love of GOD, and inspires 
 even the fallen with hope that he may return to a Divine son- 
 ship once enjoyed. Then, the Holy Communion gives definite- 
 ness to the search after spiritual union with CHRIST. But, of 
 course, it is of Confession and Absolution that we are thinking 
 chiefly. And confession and absolution are above all requisite 
 when we would turn again to GOD after long separation by sin. 
 For, however warm the desires of the heart towards GOD, they 
 will profit us very little unless we first take ourselves to task for 
 the actual wrong that we have done ; and so work on by the 
 regular course to that assurance of forgiveness, which will set us 
 free to resume our long-neglected service. Now this way, which 
 CHRIST offers to sinners in His Church, is always ready. It 
 does not depend on moving incidents, flights of human eloquence, 
 refinement of feeling, or any of those advantages granted to 
 certain individuals, which are quite unknown to many others. 
 It is a regular system, provided for the whole " household of 
 faith," of which the intention is, that, in whatever state of life 
 men are placed, they may not rest in sentiment, but proceed to 
 make proof of their sincerity by the fruits which GOD requires. 
 A system, too, in which, as we have so often had occasion to 
 remark, there is no such thing as isolation. The whole Church 
 mourns or rejoices -with each repenting sinner. The fervour of 
 conversion may begin with the individual ; but, when brought 
 into contact with the sacraments, conversion (so to speak) forgets 
 its separate origin, being merged in that charity which makes, of 
 
 1 There are many instances of this, from S. Francis to Jeanne D'Arc 
 and her " voices." Or even in Horace (Odes I. xxxiv.). 
 
 2 Special vocations and Providences are considered in the next 
 chapter.
 
 Conversion. 275 
 
 many, " one body in CHRIST, and every one members one of 
 another." That is what keeps the flame alight. That is how the 
 love of GOD, first felt in a lonely hour of sorrow, is at last made 
 perfect through the contribution of many to an effort which is 
 patient, and life-long, and full of joy.
 
 276 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Christian Perfection. 
 
 FOR most of the time since we began, our thoughts have been 
 turned to the laborious tasks of penitence, enjoined upon those 
 who desire GOD'S pardon after some serious lapse. It was a 
 dark road to travel, however surely it led towards the eternal 
 sunshine. Absolution, indeed, was a word of deliverance ; and 
 conversion was an eager self-surrender, responding to the mercy 
 that set one free. We thought, too, of a longer conversion, that 
 increases and proceeds from strength to strength ; by which the 
 true penitent climbs, as it were, the heights of Christian duty, 
 up to steeper slopes and keener air than he knew at the begin- 
 ning. But what is to be the climax of the soul's ascending ? 
 How far may we follow this beautiful prospect, advancing in 
 the ways of GOD ? 
 
 Now, it is abundantly plain, that the only limit proposed to 
 us in the Gospel is attainment of perfection. To quote two 
 passages out of many, our LORD said that we should be 
 "perfect, even as our heavenly FATHER is perfect." The author 
 of the Epistle to the Hebrews said, " Let us cease to speak of 
 the first principles of CHRIST, and press" (or, "be carried,") "on 
 unto perfection." There may be one or two places where the 
 word denotes only a consummation of privilege a final stage 
 in Church membership : z but, in nearly all, it means, without 
 doubt, full maturity of spiritual growth. 2 Thus S. James gives 
 it a special application to particular virtues, such as patience,s 
 
 1 As for instance in i Cor. ii. 6. Not in Phil. iii. 15. 
 - The definition is Bishop Westcott's, on Heb. vi. i. In the fifth of 
 Hebrews, reXei^-Tj? is contrasted with XT/T^T?;*. 
 
 3 S. James i. 4. So too S. Cyprian (De Bono Pat. 3) " Sic perfectos
 
 Christian Perfection. 277 
 
 or government of the tongue. 1 Generally, however, it seems to 
 be the complete possession and practice of holiness in the sight 
 of GOD. Like those words of S. Peter, " As He which called 
 you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living ; 
 because it is written, 2 Ye shall be holy, for I am holy." 
 
 Is Christian perfection then individual, or corporate? If 
 we were to say corporate, we should support our view by what 
 S. Paul has written on the contribution by " many members " to 
 the health of the " one body ; " and especially to that famous 
 passage in the fourth of Ephesians, about " the measure of the 
 stature of the fulness of CHRIST." 3 There is, undoubtedly, a 
 solidarity of faith and practice, only attainable by Christians in 
 corporate relation to their Divine Head. But yet we cannot say 
 that perfection is not to be aimed at by each of GOD'S children, 
 separately, " according to the working in due measure of each 
 several part. Perfection must really mean obedience to that 
 "first and great commandment;" that one should love the 
 LORD his GOD with the collected energies of "heart, mind, soul, 
 and strength." Now, it would be rash to assert that only the 
 whole Christian body can make that its endeavour. " Simon, 
 son of John, lovest thou Me more than these ? " At the same 
 time, where mutual charity exists as a " bond of perfectness " 
 among neighbours, there can be little doubt that, by virtue of 
 their agreement, love to Godward is also made stronger. But, 
 in this chapter, we must attend chiefly to what each may try to 
 
 dixit fieri Dei filios, sic consummari docuit ... si patientia Dei Patris 
 maneat in vobis." 
 
 1 S. James iii. 2. Lactantius (De Vero Cultu, vi. 13) says that there 
 are three grades of virtue to abstain from sins of deed, or word, or 
 thought. "Qui primum gradum ascendit, satis Justus est: qui secundum, 
 jam perfects virtutis, siquidem neque factis, neque sermone delinquat : qui 
 tertium, is vero similitudinem Dei assecutus videtur." 
 
 2 This quotation from Leviticus by S. Peter is an instance of Christian 
 expansion, and elevation of standard. The original precept enjoined 
 little more than a ceremonial cleanness. 
 
 3 This passage is not so explained by all. Individualist commentators 
 generally take it, as Dr. R. W. Dale does, of the perfection or maturity in 
 CHRIST to which each separate Christian ought to attain. But I prefer, 
 as usual, to follow S. Augustine : " Ecce qui est vir perfectus, caput et 
 corpus quod constat omnibus membris, quce suo tcmpore complebuntur." (De 
 Civ. Dei, lib. xxii. cap. xviii.) Clement is with the individualists : see end 
 of this chapter.
 
 278 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 do for himself: else there would be no continuity with what 
 went before. 
 
 Has, then, a case ever occurred of a human soul (not reckon- 
 ing, of course, the Holy Mother of GOD), 1 who was made 
 absolutely perfect in, and through, the earthly trial ? Could 
 any of CHRIST'S redeemed dare to say at the end as He did, 
 " It is finished ? " Is not CHRIST Himself the only one to 
 whom sure witness is borne that He was "made perfect through 
 suffering ? Certainly it would seem that the angel of death 
 rarely finds a soul simply " resting from its labours," having 
 nothing more that it could do or offer to its LORD, if life were 
 prolonged. (Works of supererogation are not to the point here, 
 for they are not what constitute perfection ; and, besides, they 
 might always be added to.) Possibly Enoch's translation may 
 have been consequent upon a penitence wholly pleasing to 
 GOD; 2 but of the older saints in general, if we hear in one place 
 that they are become " spirits of just men made perfect," in 
 another they are said still after death to require our concurrence 
 in order to their perfection. 3 Or if we select S. Paul from 
 among Christians, we remember indeed his glorious boasting in 
 CHRIST before his martyrdom, but we do not forget, either, 
 what he had written very lately in another Epistle : " Not that 
 I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I 
 press on." The road of perfection is always a way of desire. 4 
 We cannot well advance farther than to what the same apostle 
 prescribed for his Ephesians: "Be ye imitators of GOD, as 
 beloved children ; and walk in love, even as CHRIST also loved 
 you, and gave Himself up for you." 
 
 Again, so far as perfection is attainable in this world, it can 
 only be by slow degrees. Here one must nearly repeat what 
 was said in the last chapter. But whereas sudden conversions 
 
 1 See S. Aug. De Nat. et Grat. xxxvi : " De qua, propter honorem 
 Domini nullam prorsus cum de peccatis agitur haberi volo qusestionem 
 . . . Hac ergo Virgine excepta," etc. 
 
 2 See Ecclus. xliv. 16 ; Heb. xi. 5. 3 Heb. xii. 23 ; xi. 40. 
 
 4 S. Augustine insists that the "perfect" in Phil. iii. 15 are the same 
 who, in verse 13, were said to "forget the things which are behind, and 
 stretch forth," etc. " Cum enim consummaverit homo, tune incipit." 
 (De Trin. ix. i.)
 
 Christian Perfection. 279 
 
 are rare, sudden perfection is altogether fictitious ; it never can 
 have been. Bishop Westcott shows this from the single word 
 <e/>w/xe#a in Heb. vi. ad perfectionem feramur. "Let us be borne 
 on " it is continuous, " not concentrated in one momentary 
 crisis." And, surely, this would have been a superfluous 
 remark, but for erroneous teaching that has prevailed on the 
 subject. " Believers," said John Wesley, " grow dead and cold ; 
 nor can this be prevented, but by keeping up in them an 
 hourly expectation of being perfected in love. I say an hourly 
 expectation ; for to expect it at death, or some time hence, is 
 much the same as not expecting it at all." 1 He seems to have 
 been convinced, first, that a Christian ought to desire perfection, 
 and secondly, that his Methodists would not desire it unless it 
 was made easy for them, and immediate. " To set it too high 
 is the most effectual way to drive it out of the world ; " what 
 every believer might have was constant communion with 
 GOD by " humble love." The mistake was, probably, in giving 
 to this unpresuming fellowship with the Saviour a name 
 which made the claiming it savour of spiritual pride. I do not 
 know whether that doctrine survives among Methodists of the 
 present day ; but it strikes one as too nearly akin to some of 
 the self-righteous notions of more fanatical sects. Anyhow, the 
 name chosen by Wesley belonged of right to a spiritual condi- 
 tion widely different. Perfection does mean love, and requires 
 love; 2 but the love of the perfect is theirs, only, who by faith 
 and patience have overcome the world. Nay, it is a love 
 altogether singular; a love never manifested on earth except 
 once, and then flowing from the sacred heart of JESUS crucified. 
 It is right that we should be " carried on " towards this ; but 
 not that we should boast as if we possessed it. S. Francis 
 himself, though he bore the stigmata, had no such vain dream 
 of identification with his LORD. 
 
 To S. Paul our LORD said, on one well-remembered 
 occasion, " My grace is sufficient for thee ; for My power is 
 being perfected in weakness." Here we see the true attitude 
 
 1 See Southey's Life of Wesley, vol. ii. p. 184. 
 
 1 Compare, " that we may perfectly love Thee," (Collect for Purity in 
 Co mm. Office).
 
 280 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 of a penitent towards the attainment of Christian holiness. 
 Written deep in his memory is the recollection that he has 
 obtained the Divine mercy, granted to himself. " Pardon, 
 acceptance, peace, heaven, are opened at once to all who with 
 penitent heart return to GOD through JESUS CHRIST our 
 LORD." 1 Already, too, such a one is moved by intense and 
 ardent longing to serve GOD. That is the sure evidence 
 of his conversion. He is turned to GOD ; and henceforth each 
 act of obedience on his part will be a step nearer to the great 
 Example. Yet he knows, and in time to come will know far 
 more than now, how utterly weak he has made himself by his 
 past yielding. It has been said that " each separate act of sin 
 changes, so far, our moral nature and our trial." 2 The discovery 
 has to be made, and only by degrees, how hard it is even when 
 converted and forgiven to resist the tyranny of evil habits. We 
 are no longer in that helpless condition of which the apostle 
 wrote in Romans vii. not subject to that inward warfare of a 
 divided will, which seems to have had such a fascination for 
 the fancy of our great English poet. 3 For " there is no con- 
 demnation to them that are in CHRIST JESUS," and the law of 
 the Spirit of life in CHRIST JESUS makes us free from the law of 
 sin and deaths Still, where there is familiarity with sins to 
 which the temptations will recur, sad misgivings arise, which 
 can only be removed by firm faith in the sufficiency of Divine 
 grace. Many of us know too well what it is to be jealous of 
 another, with a jealousy "cruel as the grave;" 5 or, after many 
 professions of piety, to have an utter distaste for religion even 
 to find out that a shallow irreverence is our most natural and 
 congenial temper. Thus are we led to own our absolute 
 dependence upon Him who calls us to the higher life. GOD'S 
 
 1 See Pusey's Sermon on Ps. li. 10 (Re-creation of the Penitent). 
 
 2 Pusey, same Sermon. 
 
 3 It has often been observed, that Shakspere's study of Hamlet and 
 other notable characters must have been derived from "To will is present 
 with me, but to do," etc. 
 
 4 The point of importance is that, although the inward strife continues, 
 we are no longer subject to defeat. As Shakspere says again, truly, 
 (though his Angelo fails miserably to act up to the lofty sentiment,) " 'Tis 
 one thing to be tempted, Escalus, another thing to fall." (Measure for 
 Measure, Act ii., sc. i). 5 Song of Solomon, viii. 6.
 
 Christian Perfection. 281 
 
 dealing with penitents, though indeed reconciled to Himself, is 
 not so much amendment, as re-creation (Ps. li. 10). And 
 while the soul's aim should be fixed on perfection and nothing 
 less, the immediate object of prayers is, and must be, for power 
 of victory over foes that hem one in. S. Augustine says that 
 four states are possible to those exposed to temptation. The 
 first is, non pugnare sed trahi. That is when one is " sold 
 under sin," yet knows not that he is a slave. The next, 
 pugnare et vinci; when he is roused to a sense of danger, yet 
 finds no way of escape. 1 The next, pugnare^ et vincere ; which 
 is the state of those risen with CHRIST, and seeking things 
 above. And then the last is altogether heavenly : non pugnare, 
 et esse in pace vera atque perpetual Now, although the third 
 should be the rule by which true penitents habitually walk, they 
 are not allowed, in so doing, to lay down their arms, nor to trust 
 any leader but JESUS CHRIST. " By the grace of GOD I am 
 what I am." Else no hope of escape much less, of conquest. 
 
 It is an interesting question, whether one can make out 
 landmarks on the way of perfection. In the general course, 
 " that which hath been is that which shall be, and there is no 
 new thing under the sun." Yet from time to time in our own 
 personal experience, we seem to have come to what was no 
 mere renewal of the past, but was felt, then and there, as a new 
 departure. A voice from within seemed to say, " Ye have not 
 passed this way heretofore." It might be that a fair field was 
 opening out just then, through the melting of old inveterate 
 prejudice. Or we summoned up courage for a struggle, the 
 prospect of which looked fierce enough, yet came accompanied 
 by a strange confidence of prevailing, unknown hitherto. Or, 
 
 1 But " Pugnare et Vinci " is not without hope : 
 
 " The man who, though his fights be all defeats 
 Still fights, 
 Enters at last 
 
 The heavenly Jerusalem's rejoicing streets 
 With glory more, and more triumphant rites, 
 Than always-conquering Joshua, when his blast 
 The frighted walls of Jericho down cast." 
 
 (Coventry Patmore.) 
 
 " S. Aug. Enarr. in Ps. xxxv. 6. (The reference has been taken from 
 Pusey.) See also his sermons on Rom. vii. and viii. (Sermon cli.-clx.).
 
 282 Tke Use of Penitence. 
 
 the change was not of environment, but in our own inmost 
 selves. Now, when such feelings are experienced, do they in 
 any real sense mark progress ? Are we at those times like one 
 who has climbed to the top of an eminence, and sees the 
 promised land displayed to his view? As already said, it is an 
 interesting question. What we must trust to chiefly is the past : 
 we must " remember all the way which the LORD our GOD led 
 us." In the spiritual life, the retrospect is what for the most 
 part interprets the fresh beginning. And yet not alone the 
 retrospect of what we have done ; nor is that always, or entirely, 
 to be trusted. For GOD does not let us rest in the persuasion 
 that we have achieved certain results, or disposed finally of 
 certain temptations. We cannot, so to speak, reckon our 
 marches and our encampments, like Israel in the wilderness. 
 We seldom behold our Egyptians dead on the sea-shore. As 
 to good deeds, the memory of most persons, of the " holy and 
 humble men of heart," is absolutely blank. It is not therefore 
 altogether by what we have done or suffered hitherto that we 
 can take the measure of future opportunities. Sometimes one 
 may think that his Master's voice is calling him in some new 
 direction, and yet be unable to attribute this to any cause that 
 reason or experience can suggest. In that case he must wait, 
 like Samuel, till the call is repeated. The only thing we are 
 always sure of is, that JESUS CHRIST is Himself, to all of us, 
 " the Way" a living way which advances with us, keeping us in 
 the same upward aim so long as we follow it. He never tells us 
 exactly where we are, but his watchword is, ever, Sursuni corda. 
 However, this is not quite all ; for there is also an important 
 question as to special Providences. Humility can suffer no 
 injury by our noting these; love and thankfulness will be 
 immensely deepened if we do ; and as the result, we shall be 
 able to look forward with a greatly increased confidence. One 
 might be deceived for a moment, and begin to trace GOD'S 
 hand where the impulse came rather from one's own self-will. 
 But such mistakes are usually corrected after a little while : and 
 the truth is that we are more likely to see less than we ought, 
 than too much, where the question is of accepting an intimation 
 from heaven. Have not the psalmists told us of an Eye that
 
 Christian Perfection. 283 
 
 never sleeps, and Ears open to our prayers ? And our Blessed 
 LORD, did not He speak of knowing the sheep of His flock one 
 by one, and leading them safely, according to their strength ? 
 Beginning from that certainty, we are right to notice things 
 particular and private to ourselves ; and to observe various 
 " changes and chances," through which He has been making 
 " all things work together for good " to those whom He has 
 been teaching to love Him. In this sense, the past does indeed 
 interpret the future: GOD'S past, that is, not our own. The 
 voice sounds familiar to-day, because, though the marching 
 orders are new, the tones are the same that we have heard so 
 many times. We do not read that Elijah was surprised or in 
 doubt, either when an angel brought him food for a journey 
 that would have been beyond his strength, or when the GOD of 
 his fathers met and spake with him at the scene of His ancient 
 covenant with Israel. 
 
 But if the Providence of GOD is special, and apportioned 
 to the needs of separate souls, is there at the same time 
 uniformity in His method of leading souls to perfection ? To a 
 large extent, one may believe, there is. Thus for a great 
 number, at their first conversion, the immediate prospect is of 
 conflict with one or more masterful passions. Together with 
 the flame of love which the HOLY SPIRIT kindles, is given a 
 clear perception of danger from the besetting sin. The features 
 of that are familiar enough. Much, indeed, remains still to be 
 discovered : the hold that the sin had gained on the memory, 
 and, through the memory, on the imagination and desires of the 
 heart ; or, again, the subtle connection between that and other 
 faults, which would scarcely have been known without it. 1 
 Those discoveries are only made by degrees ; the whole extent 
 of the evil is probably never ascertained. But yet, a good deal 
 has been brought to light. For not in vain does one pray, 
 " Search me, O GOD, and know my heart : try me and know my 
 thoughts." Self-examination, if performed honestly and with a 
 pure intention, cannot fail to reveal the form of the enemy 
 
 1 So S. Aug. (Enarr. in Ps. Ivii. 4), " De peccato peccatum, et ad 
 peccatum peccatum, propter peccatum. . . . Quis omnia possit 
 numerare, quae connectuntur peccata peccatis ? "
 
 284 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 against whom CHRIST'S warrior has next to contend. Now 
 certainly this is one already put to flight by the virtue of 
 Christian repentance. In the act of humbling himself at his 
 LORD'S feet, the penitent received, by the very words of pardon, 
 an earnest of victory. But the foe has not been beaten back 
 very far ; and not to attack him now would be to court defeat 
 and disgrace. As says the author of the Spiritual Combat, 
 " You are hemmed in by enemies, and under the absolute 
 necessity of fighting, or perishing for ever." 1 
 
 There may have been exceptions to this, in the case of 
 eminent saints.* A wonderful repentance like S. Peter's led to 
 no return of the sin of presumption, nor even to the suggestion 
 of such a thing, so far as we can judge. But, as a rule, covetous 
 men are tempted again to lay up treasures on the earth : angry 
 men are sorely tried in their temper : frivolous ones are hard 
 put to it to forbear the idle jest ; and so with other common, if 
 not the most crying, sins. The most crying are perhaps less 
 capable of resuscitation : they leave a wholesome horror behind, 
 which will last to the end of one's days. High principle and 
 self-respect come to the aid of contrition in abjuring them. 
 Nay, it is very possible that when we think of enemies surround- 
 ing our path, we ought not often to suppose Satan present 
 among them. The devil is not always so near as is imagined. 
 Some have spoken, indeed, as if there were almost a merit in 
 having a disposition to be fiercely tempted, or " drawn away by 
 one's own lust:" as if a man were scarcely worth looking at 
 unless he had it in him to become certainly a blasphemer, and 
 not improbably a murderer. 3 That is absurd exaggeration. 
 
 1 Spiritual Combat, chap. xvi. 
 
 As S. Chrysostom Says, /ecu TO. TTTw/iara ruv ayiuv \a.^irpa.. 
 
 3 This does not seem unfair criticism of some of the " muscular " 
 zealots of forty years ago. Yet the musculars did at least believe in 
 wrestling with evil and overcoming it. Their wild beast was to be tamed. 
 They would not leave their demoniac till he was " clothed and in his right 
 mind." Thus they were preferable, on the whole, to feeble moralisers of 
 our own day, who attribute their own or their neighbours' vices to 
 heredity, and so let them rest, as if regeneration in baptism went for 
 nothing. In our own youth, we used to dispel such gloomy fancies by 
 reading Sintram, or The. Heir of Redclyffe. At this date, one may do better 
 by mentioning a magnificent Lecture of Dr. Dale's, Christian Men, God's
 
 Christian Perfection. 285 
 
 There is nothing grand in resembling a wild beast ; and GOD'S 
 children, whom the HOLY SPIRIT has led from their baptism, 
 though they have grieved Him much, yet, when they repent, are 
 not deprived of that Divine gentleness which He imparts. Yet 
 to be tempted soon after one's conversion is the general rule ; 
 one reason being that the recollection of former sins is then so 
 fresh, and it is easy to fall back into habits that had been 
 allowed to become a second nature. There are still those 
 haunting ghosts, and a very little \vould suffice to clothe them 
 anew with flesh and bones. 
 
 What tactics should be employed in this warfare, must be 
 left to others to tell. Nearly all is set down, arranged with 
 marvellous skill, in that small book which S. Francis de Sales 
 valued more than all the contents of his library The Spiritual 
 Combat. We should observe, however, that a great deal of the 
 secret of victory is explained in the New Testament itself, and 
 that S. Paul's method is aggressive, like Scupoli's. Wicked 
 suggestions are to be quelled through practising the opposite 
 virtues. The shield is faith ; the helmet, hope ; the sword is 
 that courageous charity which boldly proclaims GOD'S truth. 
 Happily, these rules are very well known. Let us proceed to 
 another step in the upward path. 
 
 We must not flatter ourselves that we shall ever, to the end 
 of our days, cease to tread the via purgativa ; but still, as we 
 have seen, it is for the earlier stages of service that GOD for the 
 most part ordains conflict. After this, we go on our way 
 through the world, marching steadily on the whole under the 
 Master's banner, without much disturbance ; yet still signing 
 ourselves continually with the Cross, to keep the affections 
 mortified. It is in little things that the apostle's precept tells 
 most, " Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed 
 by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the 
 good and acceptable and perfect will of GOD." " Few reach 
 perfection," it has been said, because "when they have overcome 
 
 Workmanship, in his book on the Ephesians. Surely it is an unworthy 
 spirit, which distrusts God's institution of " honourable marriage." " Did 
 He not make one [in matrimony] and wherefore one ? He sought a 
 godly seed." (Mai. ii. 15 ; compare i Cor. vii. 14.)
 
 286 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 their greater faults with much toil, they will not bear the 
 vexation and weariness of resisting the countless little wishes 
 and movements of the passions." 1 Wrongful indulgences are 
 not desired, perhaps, for one's own sake ; but there are frequent 
 solicitations from somewhat worldly friends, in whose society it 
 is impossible not to take pleasure ; and these are likely to draw 
 one on to the utmost limit of what is permissible. Habits 
 which are not actually wicked may be great hindrances to a 
 soul's union with GOD and growth in the spiritual life. 
 
 And so the resistance to these lesser evils has to be kept up. 
 The Christian soldier wears his armour still, and keeps it bright. 
 But it is a vexation to have to do so : no one feels enthusiasm 
 for what looks so little like active service. Spiritual writers 
 descant on the " monotony of piety," as one of the heaviest of 
 our daily burdens. We become very weary of asking for heroic 
 virtues, when there seems not the remotest prospect of their 
 being called into exercise. 
 
 But GOD is not unrighteous, that He should forget the 
 " labour of love " which His children would willingly bestow. 
 While hearts are beginning to fail, and spirits droop, He is 
 preparing some fresh employment, to lift off their load of 
 weariness. So it is proved sometimes, when He is pleased to 
 point out to any one a definite vocation in life. And although 
 many, alas ! miss their vocation because it displeases them, there 
 can hardly be any who journey down to the grave without 
 GOD'S offer coming in some shape or other. 2 
 
 Vocations to what is termed " the religious life " are not 
 precisely what we now have in view. Of that dedication of 
 self by a holy threefold vow, one can but speak with the utmost 
 respect and reverence. Yet a community-life such as these 
 " religious " lead, even outside the cloister, is too apart from 
 the world to be quite an instance in point. What one should 
 mean, rather, are opportunities for some fresh using of talents 
 for GOD, without quitting the accustomed occupations and 
 haunts. It is obvious that there are possibilities of failures 
 
 1 Spiritual Combat, chap. xii. 
 
 - Compare the second Collect for Good Friday : " That every member 
 of the same, in his vocation and ministry," etc.
 
 Christian Perfection. 287 
 
 here : some persons will have no real desire to give their best, 
 and will therefore not ask to be called up to a higher level of 
 usefulness ; or may ask, but only as pleading to be allowed to 
 follow a self-chosen path. Whereas the essential thing in 
 vocation is, that they are GOD'S callings, not man's selections. 1 
 " Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you." Thus the 
 opportunity, when it comes, is never exactly what had been 
 expected. When our LORD invited a young ruler to sell all 
 and give to the poor, it is not unlikely that he was repelled by 
 the strangeness of the proposal, as well as by the magnitude of 
 the sacrifice. We must humbly accept what is sent, though it 
 crosses the path of our preference nay, humbles our pride to 
 the very dust. After a while we shall find our truest joy in 
 that which was so little to our mind at the beginning. In 
 most questions of this kind, a humble-minded person is very 
 rarely deceived. " With the lowly is wisdom." When S. 
 Martin detected Satan under the disguise of a glorified CHRIST, 
 it was because the enemy had not been able to counterfeit the 
 marks of the sacred Passion. A vocation that would minister 
 to pride is commonly open to suspicion : it comes not from 
 that Divine Victim of Calvary, with the pierced Hands. 
 
 But how wonderful the delight of receiving a true call from 
 GOD, to one who has turned to Him from the ways of sin, and 
 turned with all his heart ! " Thou who didst deny Me thrice art 
 he whom I have chosen to feed My sheep, to strengthen My 
 brethren, to build My Church." How reassuring, to be offered 
 promotion after so many backslidings ! 
 
 " O turn, and be thou turn'd ! the selfish tear, 
 In bitter thoughts of low-born care begun, 
 Let it flow on, but flow refin'd and clear, 
 The turbid waters brightening as they run. 
 
 " Let it flow on, till all thine earthly heart 
 In penitential drops have ebb'd away, 
 Then fearless turn where Heaven hath set thy part, 
 Nor shudder at the Eye that saw thee stray." 2 
 
 1 This is well illustrated by i Cor. xii. 4-7. Vocations, considered 
 
 from GOD'S side, are ^avepaxrets roO Ilvei^a-ros Trpos TO aunfopov. 
 
 2 Keble's Christian Year : " Third Sunday after Trinity."
 
 288 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 It is the being able to look up calmly to meet the Master's 
 eye, and accept His destination, " where Heaven hath set thy 
 part" which proves the blessedness of having received a true 
 vocation from GOD. To each sincere penitent, here is a fresh 
 and powerful inducement to press on towards perfection. 
 
 There is sure to be profit accruing from working out a 
 vocation faithfully. The most general leading is to something 
 which will help others as well as the individual. Vocations 
 are indeed innumerable, and of endless variety ; but let us take 
 a few of what are most commonly offered to the acceptance of 
 Christians. For example, many persons are called to prayer : 
 GOD gives them leisure for this, and directs their attention to 
 the huge ungodliness of the age, and how few there are who 
 pray for themselves. Or He gives openings for study ; 
 introductions, it may be, not within reach of most "men, to a 
 thorough science of history. 1 Or they have a large sum of 
 money to dispose of. Or they go out to Africa, to educate the 
 tribes, and convert them to the faith. Or, remaining in their 
 own country, they have special opportunities for cultivating 
 some useful social science. Or they are called to nurse and 
 tend the sick. Or, themselves sick and afflicted, they illuminate 
 the house where they dwell with the glory of their Christian 
 patience. What is the result in every case ? That they are 
 no longer alone, as when they " mourned apart " for private 
 and personal transgressions, many of which were known only 
 to GOD ; but rather now, in fulfilling their vocation, they are 
 brought into cheerful contact with other souls, aiding them as 
 they may, and being helped by them in return. We should 
 remember, however, that a man's progress in perfection does 
 not necessarily depend on the numbers to whom he makes 
 himself useful. To convert a hundred people is, in the 
 abstract, a better success than to save one : to build a Cathedral 
 is a greater feat than to repair a poor man's cottage. But there 
 is only one way to fulfil a vocation, namely, by doing that very 
 thing which GOD sent us to do. Nothing added to that will 
 make our service more grateful to Him. No apparent in- 
 
 1 The late Bishop Creighton evidently considered his remarkable 
 historical ability in the light of a sacred vocation from GOD.
 
 Christian Perfection. 289 
 
 significance in the task which, alone, He did offer for our 
 performance, can prevent its contributing to our spiritual 
 growth, if we have loved it for His sake and the brethren's. 1 
 " Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a 
 cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say 
 unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." 
 
 Truly it is well to have these special directions given to our 
 energies after conversion. Without them, we should be much 
 too prone to " run uncertainly," to " fight as one beating the 
 air," hardly conscious of a definite aim, still less of any hope 
 that could be the soul's anchor in stormy weather. With 
 them, we may struggle on, though far from the appointed goal ; 
 and, according to the measure of the gifts that each has 
 received, we can " minister the same one to another," for the 
 edifying of the Body of CHRIST. Thus He cheers the hearts 
 of penitents, by letting them feel that He trusts them and 
 would make them instruments of His love to the Church 
 at large. 
 
 When anyone is thus conscious of having received a definite 
 call, and is striving to " walk worthy of his vocation," 2 whatever 
 it be, he is likely to value the Blessed Sacrament with a special 
 devotion. For he will learn to regard that as the highest 
 means of progressive sanctification provided for this long 
 earthly trial. On the one hand, the weakness of his endeavours 
 will have taught him profound distrust of self: though he has 
 been guided into his own allotted path, he has found proof 
 that one may stumble, even on the right road : " apart from 
 JESUS, we can do nothing." But, on the other hand, he will be 
 persuaded that none labour in vain, though outward success be 
 denied them, if they habitually " dwell in CHRIST, and CHRIST 
 in them." 
 
 1 So S. Aug. (in Ps. xlix. cap. 13) : " Tantum emit vidua duobus 
 minutis, quantum Zacchasus dando dimidium patrimonium." 
 
 2 However, both in Ephes. iv. and in the Romans, S. Paul refers 
 chiefly to the one calling into the kingdom of heaven, which all Christians 
 have received, repenting, at their baptism. So, for the most part, 
 S. Augustine : " Aversi eramus, quando sumus vocati." (Serm. clviii. 3.) 
 " Vocati sumus, quando Christiani facti sumus." (Serm. clviii. 4.) And, 
 of course, all subsequent special vocations are founded on that. 
 
 u
 
 290 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 Indeed, the Holy Communion so far surpasses other aids to 
 perfection, that comparison of It with anything else is 
 impossible. To fight battles for CHRIST, to receive His 
 counsels for precepts all these are good ; perhaps, even, a 
 little glorious. But in the Blessed Sacrament we are actually 
 made one with CHRIST. All other hopes of recovery and 
 renewed usefulness would fail. Happy, indeed, is the man who 
 never again commits that great offence of which he is now 
 ashamed, nor yields to that worst sinful indulgence, from which 
 he has torn away his heart. Such examples of steadfastness 
 do occur after a true conversion. Then, it may be, in his best 
 and brightest mood, one may dream of doing great things for 
 GOD ; and each morning, when he rises from sleep, his inward 
 song will be almost of triumph. But, alas ! that will not be 
 always, nor for long. Hours of darkness succeed, during which 
 the only thought is a dreary consciousness of some former sin 
 following after and finding one out, and oneself powerless for 
 good, whether by word or example. " Behold, they will not 
 believe me, nor hearken unto my voice." Then it is that the 
 poor desponding spirit goes simply to CHRIST, kneels before 
 Him at His Altar, and eats His Flesh, and partakes of 
 everlasting life. " As the living FATHER sent Me, and I live 
 by the FATHER ; so he that eateth Me, he shall also live 
 because of Me." 
 
 " Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, 
 for they shall be filled." Although we cannot suppose that 
 this " Angels' Food " is intended only for those who have 
 deeply sinned, there can be no doubt that the Blessed 
 Sacrament does peculiarly meet the need of penitents. It was 
 by a happy inspiration that the framers of our Liturgy 
 introduced those Comfortable Words, 1 CHRIST'S invitation to 
 the weary and heavy-laden. For He is present, as we know, 
 to renew on our behalf the oblation of his pure Flesh and 
 cleansing Blood ; that so the virtue of His Passion may stand 
 for ever between us and the punishment which our sins had 
 deserved. " He is present, not as a judge, but as a Redeemer ; 
 
 1 Adapted, however, from Hermann's Consultation : see Procter and 
 Frere's History of the Book of Common Prayer.
 
 Christian Perfection. 291 
 
 not to condemn, but to save ; not to visit our offences, but to 
 cleanse us from them . . . Himself the Salvation our eyes wait 
 for, not partaking of our decay, but restoring our waste places, 
 that He may dwell there, and, by dwelling, restore them." I 
 More and more, as time runs on, and we feel the utter disorder 
 that our sins have introduced, into motives, desires, actions, 
 habits, do we learn to rest in a truth and righteousness that are 
 unchanging ; not substituted, but freely imparted to us, who 
 feed on Him, believe in Him, abide in Him, are joined and 
 united to Him by a deathless union for ever and ever. He 
 who can say, " To me to live is CHRIST," has learned the whole 
 secret of spiritual perfection. 
 
 Nothing can compare with the Holy Communion ; and yet 
 there is, lastly, one more most precious fellowship with Himself, 
 which He grants to the humble and contrite. This resides in 
 what has often been called the sacrament of suffering. " If ye 
 are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers, 
 then are ye bastards, and not sons." Over and above that 
 universal law so " grievous " at the beginning, so " fruitful " of 
 peace and righteousness to those who " have been exercised 
 thereby " there exist many peculiar causes of sorrow, which 
 are derived from past indulgence in sin. The world is cruel to 
 some sorts of reformed characters : if they had persisted in their 
 evil ways, who would have cared ? but it is an affront to Egypt 
 when its pleasant sins are despised when Moses "accounts the 
 reproach of CHRIST greater riches than all its treasures." So 
 too the flesh has its own natural vengeance to take for riotous 
 living : the errors of youth must be atoned for in the bodies 
 which gave them place. Or shall we take, rather, the trial of 
 loneliness, which is a frequent consequence of breaking away 
 from bad habits, even without the occurrence of persecution ? 
 Indeed, a man may be sad and lonely, although fulfilling a 
 vocation which brings him into contact with others. He does 
 his work for them as required, but he makes no friendly 
 advances towards them. He dares not gather companions 
 round him. While Martha served and was hospitable, Mary, 
 once a sinner, chose solitude and retirement. The way of 
 1 From Pusey's Sermon on Increased Communions.
 
 292 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 repentance is not sociable. We have indeed the comfort of 
 knowing that others pray for us when the whole Church is 
 praying ; but in our daily lives we are mourners, reserved and 
 silent. Thus we miss a good deal of the support that others 
 enjoy. We have less of that cheerful companionship which is 
 given to so many, to assuage grief, or soothe the pains of sick- 
 ness. And perhaps at the close of life, while bodily strength is 
 fast decaying, we are most of all unfriended and desolate. But 
 then it is CHRIST draws near to us, bestowing His peace, 
 opening as it were His wounds, drawing us to His heart and 
 bidding us share His reproach. To be crucified with CHRIST 
 is that which chiefly lifts up the penitent to a near view of the 
 beauty of the resurrection. If I am " a witness of the sufferings 
 of CHRIST," then also " a partaker of the glory that shall be 
 revealed." And when S. Paul prayed for those who must 
 expect the discipline of pain, his thought would ever be of their 
 greater strengthening : " May ye be filled with the knowledge 
 of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding . . . 
 strengthened with all power, according to the might of His 
 glory, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy : giving 
 thanks unto the FATHER, who made us meet to be partakers 
 of the inheritance of the saints in light." 
 
 There is at the same time a special humility of patience, 
 exhibited in suffering, which is thought to be the most shining 
 grace of an habitually contrite spirit. Perhaps the best and 
 most beautiful description of that is Wordsworth's : 
 
 " The darts of anguish fix not where the seat 
 Of suffering hath been thoroughly fortified 
 By acquiescence in the Will supreme 
 For time and for eternity : by faith, 
 Faith absolute in GOD, including hope, 
 And the defence that lies in boundless love 
 Of His perfections ; with habitual dread 
 Of aught unworthily conceived, endured 
 Impatiently, ill done, or left undone, 
 To the dishonour of His holy Name." x 
 
 Such is the penitent's progress towards perfection. Not 
 1 Wordsworth's Excursion, bk. iv.
 
 Christian Perfection. 293 
 
 such as redeemed man's ought to have been. The path by 
 which one passes within the rainbow to the Throne of mercy 
 should present no obstacles to a heart that loves. Each 
 Christian's course to the highest good should be "an ever 
 onward course : if there be occasional stumblings and infirmities, 
 yet nothing inconsistent with the state of grace." (Pusey.) 
 Here, on the contrary, we see sadness and perplexity, short- 
 lived hopes almost quenched by self-condemning fears, heavy 
 sorrow hardly relieved by recollection of GOD'S invincible pity. 
 Yet, wherever a soul does not quite cast away love and trust, 
 " all things work together for good " for that soul. Through 
 temptations and conflicts ; uniform monotony of service or 
 special ministries and vocations ; refreshment of sacraments or 
 experience of suffering; it is led forward by One who never 
 forgets, who awaits His redeemed in heaven, who has swallowed 
 up death in victory. 
 
 But, in all the stages of our progress, we should persevere 
 with the use of sacramental confession. For by this we revive 
 the memory of that Divine mercy which once blotted out the 
 sinful past : we renew a sorrow which should be life-long : we 
 rouse ourselves to fresh exertions : we make our best preparation 
 for "coming holy and clean to the heavenly Feast, in the 
 marriage-garment which GOD requires:" 1 and we judge our- 
 selves before Him, not forgetting that last and strict account 
 that we shall yet have to render after death. 
 
 This chapter might well conclude with a short passage from 
 S. Bernard, who says, " Our salvation consists in two things, 
 namely, justification and glorification. One at the beginning 
 [of our course], the other is our perfection. In that, is labour ; 
 but in this, the fruit of our labour. And now indeed we are 
 justified by faith, whereas the glory will be through sight." 2 
 The labour is penitential, and our very life, he says, is given us 
 ad agendam pcenitentiam ; but that must not hinder us from 
 passing on towards perfection ; from expecting earnestly the 
 climax of Christian hope. Slow and difficult may be the 
 penitent's onward path : by fasting, and prayer, and alms- 
 
 1 See the First Exhortation in our Communion Office. 
 
 2 See S. Bernard (Serm De Diversis, cv.).
 
 294 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 deeds he keeps back carnal desires and enticements of 
 the wicked world : but at each stage he remembers the glory 
 that shall be revealed, and the manifestation of the sons 
 of GOD. 
 
 Law's treatise upon Christian perfection is also well known. 
 He says, " No one can have any assurance that he pleases GOD, 
 or puts himself within the terms of Christian salvation, but he 
 who serves GOD with his whole heart, and with the utmost of 
 his strength. Though we are not called to such a perfection, as 
 implies a sinless state ; though our imperfections will not prevent 
 the Divine mercy, yet it cannot be proved that GOD has any 
 terms of favour for those who do not labour to be as perfect as 
 they can be. ... It is as necessary to labour after Per- 
 fection, as to labour after our Salvation, because we can have 
 no satisfaction that a failure in one will not deprive us of 
 the other." 1 
 
 These two writers are thoroughly consistent with each other, 
 and with the third chapter of Philippians. 
 
 But one hardly sees how a doctrine like S. Bernard's or 
 William Law's can be reconciled with that "apathy" in which 
 philosophers have supposed that moral perfection resides. 
 Clement of Alexandria describes one " temperate and passion- 
 less, proof against pleasures and pains, as they say the adamant 
 is against fire : " such a man, he thinks, should be reckoned 
 " perfect, grown to the full measure of stature." 2 S. Augustine 
 on the contrary teaches that the passions are to be, not extin- 
 guished, but " turned to righteous uses. We do not so much 
 enquire whether a pious man is angry, as why he is angry: not 
 whether he fears, but what he fears." And again, " When there 
 shall be no sin in a man, then there shall be this cb-a&ia. He 
 who thinks he lives without sin puts aside not sin but pardon." 3 
 
 Certainly the Augustinian doctrine is what agrees best with 
 the continual conflict of a missionary. One thing, however, 
 may well be remembered on the other side. We missionaries 
 are apt to be fretful, disturbed by many anxious cares ; and our 
 
 1 See Law's Christian Perfection, chap. xiv. 
 
 2 See Clem. Alex. Strom, vii. 67, 68 (Mayor's translation). 
 
 3 See S. Aug. (De Civ. Dei. ix. 5 : xiv. 9).
 
 Christian Perfection. 295 
 
 LORD has shown, in the first of His parables, how sadly these 
 hinder perfection. It would do us no harm to look up oftener 
 than we do from our troubled sea to the calm heavens above 
 us ; and to cultivate, though in the midst of much " labour 
 and travail," the " peace of GOD which passeth all under- 
 standing."
 
 296 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The Last Judgment* 
 
 [A meditation on the Visible Presence of CHRIST, before which sin 
 will at last be confounded, and contrition receive its final 
 acceptance.] 
 
 WE are not saved by fear, but by hope. The higher a 
 Christian lifts his expectation of what is attainable through 
 grace, the more will his Master, by the attraction that is in 
 His Name, draw him to heaven and to Himself. Our nearest 
 approach to perfection is when we are patient yet eager 
 travellers by the way that leads to a perfect state, far distant, 
 but ardently longed for. 
 
 However, repentance has been the subject of these pages, 
 and repentance should hold its ground in the concluding 
 chapter. Now there is one among motives to repentance, to 
 which all ages and nearly all thoughtful men have been wont 
 to assign pre-eminence. This is, the prospect of a Judgment to 
 come. The Judgment is placed, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
 among six fundamentals in which Christians hearers are to be 
 instructed at the outset. It is also congenial to declining years. 
 It comes in when other reflections have had their turn, and little 
 remains to be attended to, except the last account. Then 
 this abides as the final aim that, when the LORD appears, 
 one " may be found in peace, without spot and blameless " 
 before Him. So it supplies the first great motive, and the 
 last. 
 
 Those who began the preaching of the Gospel, while 
 insisting that " the goodness of GOD leadeth men to repent- 
 ance," would also " persuade by the terror of the LORD ; " for
 
 The Last Judgment. 297 
 
 they remembered how Himself had said, " Fear Him which is 
 able to destroy both soul and body in hell." The Church 
 marks an intimate connection between the thought of the last 
 Day, and whatever she enjoins of penitential earnestness. 1 We 
 judge ourselves here, that we may not be condemned hereafter. 
 We submit to a tribunal of mercy in this life, that we may 
 dare to stand before that tribunal of justice inexorable, over 
 which CHRIST will preside at His coming. As surely as, 
 here, His mercy is offered to all, will His judgment hereafter 
 include the whole human race, and especially the Catholic 
 Church. 2 
 
 I. We should note the directness with which our LORD and 
 His apostles cause our thoughts to travel towards the great 
 last Judgment. Revealed in vivid allegory, CHRIST is seen 
 upon His Throne, seated in the presence of all His creatures. 
 The intervening ages are forgotten : here is the end to which 
 swift fancy wings its flight, planting us already at the point to 
 which all history is tending, at the feet of the Son of Man. 
 We can realise in part the extraordinary impression produced 
 on those who witnessed the Transfiguration, or listened to the 
 " signs of His coming," and that wonderful triad of parables 
 in S. Matthew xxv. ; or were present when, standing bound 
 before the chief priests, He astonished them by applying to 
 Himself the magnificent imagery of Daniel : " Hereafter shall 
 ye see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and 
 coming on the clouds of heaven." There was nothing new in 
 the idea of men rendering an account of their lives hereafter. 
 The new thought was, of CHRIST being Himself the Judge : 
 that His judging would be the climax of His rule and Kingdom; 
 and this the strange result of the deep humiliation of His 
 Passion. The apostles appear to have accepted the revelation 
 with an entirely resolute faith. When left by their Master 
 at Jerusalem, they knew that He had gone to sit at GOD'S 
 right hand till His "foes were made His footstool;" at the 
 
 1 See the Service " for denouncing GOD'S anger against sinners " 
 (Commination), at the beginning of Lent ; in which there is much 
 insistence on the account to be rendered after death. 
 
 2 See i S. Peter iv. 17, 18.
 
 298 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 end of the world He would "come in like manner as they 
 had seen Him go into heaven ; " and His coming would be 
 to judgment. That, and His death and resurrection, were 
 closely associated in their minds : He had risen, as they 
 believed, for the sake of being manifested thus in glory as 
 King over all. If S. Paul preaches repentance at Athens, 
 it is " inasmuch as GOD hath appointed a day, in the 
 which He will judge the world in righteousness by the 
 man whom He hath ordained ; whereof He hath given 
 assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from 
 the dead." 
 
 In those early days, hopes were entertained that, between 
 CHRIST'S resurrection and His second advent, no long space 
 would intervene : that He would then set up a kingdom on this 
 earth, and reign with His saints a thousand years. 1 S. Paul's 
 earliest epistles show that that expectation prevailed among 
 the Macedonian churches ; and his gentle warning to 
 Thessalonica seems intended only to postpone the question 
 till after the fall of the Roman power. But when, a good 
 while after, S. Peter was writing his second Epistle, 2 a change 
 of feeling, if not of conviction, had begun. Now, men were 
 asking, " Where is the promise of His presence ? for, from the 
 day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were 
 from the beginning of the creation." Nor did S. Peter in his 
 answer give any ground for returning to the former persuasion. 
 Rather, he accepted the delay, and showed that it was 
 attributable to the Divine long-suffering ; assuring his disciples 
 
 1 The Millenarian view survived for several centuries. It is advocated 
 by S. Justin Martyr (Dialog. 80, 81), and strongly maintained by S. 
 Irenasus (lib. v. chap, xxxiv.) ; who also quotes S. Papias. These two were 
 disciples of S. Polycarp, of whose writings not enough is extant to show 
 whether he himself was a Chiliast or not, (though he speaks of the saints 
 reigning with CHRIST). Mr. R. Travers Smith, (The Church in Roman Gaul, 
 p. 85,) thinks it probable that S. Irenseus was led to a literalistic treatment 
 of passages like Isaiah xi. and Rev. xx., through dread of the exaggerated 
 and fantastic spiritualism of the Gnostics. But the Millenarian notion 
 survived still later, and is found in Lactantius, (Epit. chap. xi.). Eusebius 
 condemns it, (Hist. in. 39). 
 
 2 I may be permitted to leave to scholars to determine the vexed 
 question of the date of S. Peter's second Epistle. It does not concern us 
 here in any way.
 
 The Last Judgment. 299 
 
 that with GOD " a thousand years are as one day." Thus he 
 prescribed an attitude of complete uncertainty as to " days and 
 seasons," in which all subsequent ages have acquiesced. Only 
 we must not suppose that the delay implies " slackness 
 concerning His promise." 
 
 One result was inevitable from the postponement of the 
 second Advent of JESUS CHRIST. Instead of travelling on 
 always to the Judgment, Christians would learn to take an 
 ever-increasing interest in what is called the intermediate state. 
 This was not the mere short sleep or rest that had been 
 supposed, but (for those who departed " in CHRIST ") a long 
 " sabbatism," to endure beyond computation by centuries, or 
 even thousands of years. More and more, therefore, the 
 tendency of modern piety has been to speculate on what is 
 happening to " the souls of the righteous " who are " in the 
 hand of GOD ; " and how these continually grow in the 
 knowledge and love of Him who is their life. How far 
 penitence may be characteristic of the Church expectant, was 
 suggested briefly in Chap. xii. ; and it is unnecessary to return 
 to the subject now. But another thought that has come to the 
 front is of a particular judgment, to be passed on each 
 individual soul as it quits the body. This, too, was sure to 
 have prominence, so soon as man realised that the present 
 dispensation might be prolonged indefinitely. They recoiled 
 from the teaching if such a thing ever was taught that the 
 "living agent" 1 in man, the immortal spirit which by 
 dissolution had " returned to GOD who gave it," should be kept 
 in blank ignorance of its ultimate destination. And so, after 
 some troubled surmisings for the earlier Alexandrian thinkers 
 could not shake off the heathen's dread of malignant " powers " 
 waiting to seize the naked soul 2 by degrees they returned to 
 
 1 See Butler's Analogy, part I. chap. i. 
 
 2 See Dr. Mayor's note on Clement (Strom, lib. vii. cap. xiii.), who 
 
 says [o yruariKos] OVK aiffxfoeTcu airoQavuv, TOUS eowricus 6(f>0TJva.i. Dr Mayor's 
 comment is, " I think the e^ova-iai are the accusing angels, who oppose the 
 admission of the dying Christian into Paradise." (References to other 
 Greek writers follow.) Dr. Bright (in Diet. Chr. Biogr.), quotes a passage 
 from Theophilus of Alexandria on the awfulness of the particular 
 judgment : " What fear and trouble and anguish we have to see when the 
 soul is parted from the body ! "
 
 300 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 those happier ideas derived from Jewish tradition, which our 
 LORD Himself had sanctioned ; and believed that, though in 
 death, each man's soul is " required of him," and in Hades a 
 " deep gulf is fixed " between the wicked and the righteous, yet 
 for the latter is prepared a peaceful resting-place in the bosom 
 of " our father Abraham." 
 
 At the present time, most serious thinkers acknowledge a 
 particular judgment : perhaps, each one's death is, in itself, his 
 judgment. 1 His soul then passes to this side or to that, 
 according to the choice that he made for himself while in the 
 body. He is still the same man, only, there can be no more of 
 " working out his own salvation." If he refused Divine grace 
 before, he cannot accept it now. If his works were done in 
 faith, they " follow " him, but he cannot add to them in respect 
 of merit. Of this he will be fully conscious ; and so already, in 
 a true sense, will have passed through a judgment, or crisis, 
 decisive of his eternal gain or loss. What he cannot know, in 
 his yet imperfect condition, are the measures of punishment 
 prepared for the wicked, or the rewards of glory for the 
 righteous. We should observe also that, as regards the 
 particular judgment, we have no knowledge of a sentence to be 
 passed by the lips of JESUS CHRIST. If we were to grant the 
 truth of inspiration to those wonderful stanzas of Newman's in 
 The Dream of Gerontius, we should still believe that the soul is 
 guided to its place by the eye, not voice, of our Incarnate 
 LORD. 
 
 There is, therefore, a consummation still to be expected, 
 and an account to be rendered " to the Judge of quick and 
 dead." From musing on the intermediate state, we return in 
 thought to " that Day," and the plain language of apostles 
 concerning it. It is like coming from dreams to realities. 
 Apparebo conspectui Tuo, We almost seem to see CHRIST'S 
 Throne of Judgment. Some have felt that they could hear, 
 like a continual call, the pealing trumpet of the Archangel. 
 Even those to whom vivid metaphors are not moving or 
 
 1 So Father Congreve (Parable of the Ten Virgins, p. 51), says, " Death 
 constitutes the particular judgment of each human soul : it determines 
 our eternal condition."
 
 The Last Judgment. 301 
 
 eloquent, are struck by S. Paul's habit of turning and returning 
 to this subject, as if it were never out of his mind. The 
 passages are almost too familiar to be quoted : " The Day is 
 at hand : let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and 
 let us put on the armour of light." " Why dost thou judge 
 thy brother ? We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of 
 GOD . . . each one of us shall give account of himself to GOD." 
 " We must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of 
 CHRIST; that each one may receive the things done in the 
 body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or 
 bad." Xor is it S. Paul only. " Murmur not one against 
 another," writes S. James, " that ye be not judged : behold the 
 Judge standeth before the doors." And S. Peter, " They that 
 speak evil shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the 
 quick and the dead." And S. John, having in his Epistle 
 exhorted to a perfect love, such as will give " boldness in the 
 day of judgment," concludes his " testimony " with " Amen : 
 come, LORD JESUS." There is no more remarkable instance of 
 contrast between most modern theology and that of the New 
 Testament, than in respect of judgment to come; which we so 
 strangely omit, while to the apostles it was an essential corner- 
 stone to their foundation of doctrine. 
 
 II. We are not excused for our neglect by the fact that 
 Christians generally have ceased to believe that the LORD'S 
 appearing can be imminent. One might rather ask, Why 
 should so much pains have been taken to seize our attention ? 
 Why should such peculiarly striking language have been 
 employed to depict this tremendous drama, if it were not 
 removed from our ken by illimitable ages ? However, no one 
 can expect that the vivid details will impress all alike. What 
 we should rather consider is that, to the Church of CHRIST, a 
 consummation of all things, when it comes, must take the form 
 of a Judgment by CHRIST Himself a judgment reversing or 
 confirming all that went before. Nothing less could fulfil the 
 purpose of His Incarnation. The question, to members of His 
 Church, is not so much of individual righteousness or guilt. 
 Or rather, we have indeed " a law written in our hearts," by 
 which we are accountable to our Maker, who gave us reason
 
 302 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 and freewill ; but much more than that arises out of our 
 adoption into the family of GOD in CHRIST. For CHRIST is 
 Saviour of the whole of our complex nature and of all human 
 flesh that partakes of renewal in Him. His life imparted is 
 common to all mankind through grace. From which it follows, 
 that we are not only His members, but members one of 
 another, in His mystical Body, the Church. We shall be 
 judged as one body, one redeemed family. 
 
 Of His right of dominion over those whom He thus 
 regards, there can be no doubt. When CHRIST " lived again," 
 it was that He " might be LORD both of the dead and the 
 living." But it is also most certain that so long as this earthly 
 dispensation lasts, though He be our only Master and LORD, 
 He compels none of us to bow down and acknowledge Him. 
 Nor does He interfere with our mutual relationships among 
 ourselves. Though experience shows that those who renounce 
 His allegiance are generally also false to their obligations as 
 Christian brethren, He leaves this, too, to happen if it must. 
 He does not establish a compulsory union among us, either of 
 sentiment or practice. If any refuse to honour the Eternal 
 FATHER in the person of His Divine SON, they can do so ; or 
 if they choose to do violence to Christian brotherhood by 
 schisms, factions, and wars, they are equally uncontrolled, for 
 so long as the present life continues. 
 
 But this long forbearance shall have an end. Heresy and 
 unbelief cannot stand for ever before Him who is the Truth. 
 Nor selfish cruelty, before Him who said, " Love one another, 
 as I have loved you." Succeeding therefore to this kingdom of 
 grace, which now subsists by the mere long-suffering of GOD, 
 there must be a kingdom of glory, in which CHRIST shall be 
 manifested to all, and obeyed by all, His creatures. Those 
 who are found rejecting His love then, are rejected by Him 
 also : those who believed on Him and confessed Him here, are 
 received into His joy. And this for ever ; because the 
 Church's trial in the world will have ended, and CHRIST'S 
 former mediatorial rule passed away with that, so that 
 " there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins." Our Christian 
 faith requires us to believe, first, that CHRIST Himself will be
 
 The Last Judgment. 303 
 
 our Judge, because we belong to Him in every way, body and 
 soul, by every right whether of creation or redemption ; so that 
 we shall be judged in the whole of our nature which He took, 
 and in the sight of One made like unto us in all things, only 
 without sin. Next, that, inasmuch as He came to form us into 
 a Church, of which the members should share a common life 
 from Himself, and live under His " new law " of charity, we 
 must render account not only to Him, but, in some measure, 
 to our brethren also in Him. Whatever may happen to the 
 heathen, we shall come to the last Judgment with the stamp of 
 our Catholic communion upon us. Then, lastly, that although, 
 before that Day appear, the stream of time may roll on far 
 beyond any limit that we can reckon, yet our King only waits 
 for a consummation predetermined of GOD known already to 
 the FATHER, in whose Hand are all things. Known however 
 only to Him, though saints pray in Paradise that it may come, 
 and the Church on earth both discharges the same duty of 
 supplication, and strives by works of penitence to prepare for 
 the presence of her LORD. 
 
 On the whole, one should think that the soul's turning to 
 GOD our subject throughout these chapters is not greatly 
 affected by the date of the future Judgment. The Church 
 prepares with the same diligence, whatever the " changes and 
 chances " to be experienced before CHRIST comes however 
 great the strain of endurance required by S. James' exhortation, 
 " Be patient until the coming of the LORD." It is useless to 
 think of the unfolding ages. Even if we had not those vivid 
 pictures which enable us, so to speak, to leap over the immense 
 gulf and to surround ourselves with the majesty of the 
 incomparable scene, we should still confess that it was coming. 
 But in no case could we " know times or seasons." Nor is it 
 the intervening space that matters, but the abiding fact of the 
 Judgment, which must come eventually. Our LORD indeed 
 draws from the hiddenness of the end a lesson of constant 
 vigilance, and warns us that ill may befall those who watch not 
 against His coming. But those lessons and warnings have a 
 nearer application which is far more practical and tangible. 
 The most wisely watchful against the day of doom must
 
 304 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 always be he who watches for the hour of his own departure. 
 When we reflect that we may die at any moment, and that 
 between death and judgment can be no change of condition by 
 repentance, we have said to ourselves what may well serve as 
 goads 1 to the most sluggish and indifferent. 2 
 
 But the points upon which penitence fixes attention are 
 those already mentioned: (i) that CHRIST (whether He comes 
 "at even, or at midnight, or at cock -crowing, or in the 
 morning ") will be the one Almighty and Supreme Judge ; 
 (2) that the account, therefore, will extend to the whole of our 
 nature, which He took and redeemed for Himself ;3 and (3) that 
 we shall be judged in respect of our duty towards other 
 members of His Body, the Church. In some degree, the same 
 test will be extended to the nations of the heathen ; and we, 
 too, shall know that we were responsible for those outside the 
 fold. But for us, at least, it will not be enough to have " done 
 justly and loved mercy " 4 as every man must. Much more 
 than the mere kindliness which men term " humane " will be 
 expected of Catholic Christians who would hear " that most 
 joyful voice,s ' Come, ye blessed of My FATHER : for ... 
 inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these My 
 brethren, ye did it unto Me.' " 
 
 III. Let us proceed, then, to consider our meeting with 
 JESUS CHRIST. At " that day and hour," we shall rise to a 
 conviction, suddenly formed but most firm and clear, " that the 
 SON of GOD is come, and hath given us an understanding, that 
 we may know Him that is true " (dA-^^tvov). 6 He impersonates 
 the truth of human nature. As once He stood before an 
 earthly judge, and was condemned as a false pretender to 
 
 1 " The words of the wise are as goads" Eccles. xii. n. 
 
 2 See Ecclus v. 4-8 : on which S. Augustine comments (Tract, xxxiii. 
 in S.Joann.), " Propter illos qui dilationibus illuduntur, fecit diem mortis 
 incertum." 
 
 3 S. Irenaeus, in a well-known passage, (iv. 5) argues that our bodies 
 have the hope of resurrection to eternity, because they participate of 
 CHRIST'S risen Body in the Eucharist. 
 
 4 Micah vi. 8. 
 
 s See the Prayer for the Church in the English Mass of the 1549 
 Prayer Book. 
 
 6 i S. John v. 20.
 
 The Last Judgment. 305 
 
 royalty, 1 so now He is exalted King over all by an undisputed 
 claim. " The zeal of the LORD of hosts " has at last performed 
 what the humility and patience of JESUS held in abeyance for 
 so many ages. This is His full and final vindication. Instead 
 of that " reproof, shame, and dishonour " to which His Holy 
 Name was subjected while the world went on in its pride, every 
 creature now owns the glory of the Son of Man. From every 
 heart goes up acknowledgment of truth, justice, love, in each 
 step that He took on the way of our redemption. From the 
 Fall in Adam to His own holy Incarnation, from the Incarnation 
 to His place at the Right Hand, whether they will or not, men 
 adore Him now for what He did, what He suffered, what He 
 was and is. They perceive what it cost Him to plunge into 
 the bitter conflict with Satan, they see the wounds of His 
 Passion, 2 they are filled with the consciousness of His endurance 
 of temptation. They know that He faced every form of evil 
 that has come to them : they behold the result in this supreme 
 triumph of His sinless humanity. 
 
 Now, too, they realise as none could till He appeared in 
 glory, how His whole purpose was to win them to Himself. 
 As surely as every eye in the ranks of the assembled Church is 
 fixed upon the Throne where He sits, does His own eye rest 
 upon the great concourse, appropriating them, claiming them 
 for His inheritance. 
 
 So must " every tongue confess that JESUS CHRIST is 
 LORD." That " glory of the FATHER in which He comes with 
 holy angels " can be nothing less than the proclamation of Him 
 as Head and Heir of all things. Once more the angels of GOD 
 worship at His coming. Once more the Eternal FATHER owns 
 His pleasure in His Beloved SON. But now, as never before, 
 there is absence of all contradiction. Not a mouth is opened to 
 blaspheme through the whole range of creation. This silent 
 homage round the Throne of Judgment is as eloquent as the 
 
 1 It is a favourite thought with S. Augustine (to be met with also in 
 Bishops Pearson and A. P. Forbes' Treatises on the Creeds), that He who 
 shall judge all mankind is the same who stood before the tribunal of a 
 Roman procurator, and was condemned by him. 
 
 2 Rev. i. 7.
 
 306 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 " great voice in heaven," where " thousands of thousands " sing, 
 " Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the 
 power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and 
 glory, and blessing." Rex civitatis SUCE, Victor super omnia* 
 
 IV. By the revelation of Himself then made, our Master 
 will execute judgment. The awakened intellect of mankind 
 will apprehend the human perfection of JESUS CHRIST : will 
 understand at last what it owes to Him. " Every eye shall see 
 Him." Whatever we know about ourselves will be by com- 
 parison with Him. 2 This is really how He judges ; not by 
 interrogation in words, but by manifestation of that which 
 every man was meant to be, but JESUS, alone, is the " image 
 and glory of GOD." We shall remember then how it was 
 written, " Leaving an example, that ye should follow His steps, 
 who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth." 
 
 Here is, probably, the explanation of that overwhelming awe, 
 or terror, to which prophets and apostles alike give utterance, 
 in view of " the Great Day of the LORD." It is not for the 
 mysterious doom which may follow after : into that we cannot 
 look, and allusions to it are comparatively rare. But the awful- 
 ness lies in the comparison of our own lives with His, when we 
 are presented before His Face. " Who shall stand when He 
 appeareth ? " We should observe that an exact comparison 
 is really what will take place. The fear that belongs to that Day 
 will not be as of those sinking into illimitable depths, whither, 
 they know not. On the contrary, men will almost be able to 
 measure the cause of their alarm. It will proceed from a clear 
 and definite presentation of human nature their own flesh and 
 blood which will confront them. All that visionary pageant 
 that we read of may be a mere accumulation of metaphor the 
 clouds, the trumpet, the dazzling throne, the faces innumerable 
 set side by side. 3 What cannot be metaphorical is the full 
 manifestation of JESUS CHRIST, as He was and is. 
 
 1 S. Aug. (Enarr. in Ps. Ixi. c. 6). 
 
 2 This will really be the ffv\\oyifffj.bs 6.^a.prijfji6.ruv, described in Wisd. 
 iv. 20. 
 
 3 As S. Hilary says (De Trin. i. 19), "Comparatio terrenorum ad Deum 
 nulla est : sed infirmitas nostrae intelligent! EC cogit species quasdam ex 
 inferioribus, tanquam superiorum indices, quasrere." The point is, that
 
 The Last Judgment. 307 
 
 V. Our Blessed LORD, by His Incarnation, took to Himself 
 the soul of man, for redemption and salvation. Therefore the 
 account to be rendered extends to each soul of ours, in every 
 faculty. We have to answer for thoughts, words, and deeds, in 
 which the whole activity of our will consists. Our deeds : 
 " We must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat 
 of CHRIST, that each one may receive the things done in the 
 body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or 
 bad." Our words : " For by thy words thou shalt be justified, 
 and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Our thoughts: 
 " He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and 
 make manifest the counsels of the hearts." But our LORD also 
 took to Himself the human body ; for " the Word became flesh, 
 and tabernacled among us." Our bodies, therefore, are to be 
 raised and united to our souls at His coming, that we may 
 " receive the things done in the body." Not that our bodies in 
 themselves are responsible, or deserving of reward or punish- 
 ment j 1 but inasmuch as reason and will have made the body 
 their instrument in this time of trial, so hereafter through the 
 bodily senses will joy or grief be made the everlasting portion 
 of souls, whether taken up into glory or consigned to eternal 
 death. And the justice of this will appear from the presence 
 of the enthroned Judge, in whom the scars of His sacred 
 Passion will bear witness to the share that His true human 
 Flesh has had in the obedience " even unto death " of the well- 
 beloved, only-begotten SON. 
 
 these figures must be believed nearest to reality, of any that our minds 
 could at present conceive ; although, if they could be compared with 
 what " the Day shall declare," the proportion would be slight indeed. 
 The mass of the sun is hidden from us by encircling fires ; yet those fires, 
 by their light and heat, teach us where to look for our sidereal centre. 
 As Mr. W. R. Inge says, " We do not commit ourselves to the belief that 
 there will some day be a great Assize ; " that is no part of necessary 
 Christian faith. But should we be very wise if we rejected the only 
 direction given to our fancy, which comes from the lips of the Great 
 Judge Himself? These details, like the rtfwos shown to Moses in the 
 
 mount, are given for a Trapa/SoXrj eis rov Koupbv rbv VfffTTr]K6ra (Heb. ix. 9). 
 
 1 On Eccles. v. 6, " Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin," 
 Delitzsch says we should rather translate " to bring thy body into punish- 
 ment ; " because what sins is not the flesh, but the will determined by the 
 fleshly lust (<rdp dyuaprt'ay, Rom. viii. 3).
 
 308 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 VI. It is possible that there may be another intention in 
 bringing bodies, as well as souls, to that final manifestation, 
 namely, that we may see and know each other as we never 
 could before. Perhaps there is no need to perplex oneself with 
 questions as to the degree of identity between the new body 
 and the old, nor as to any outward difference between the 
 "sheep" and the "goats." The obvious reflection is that any 
 classification which is to take place of mankind " according to 
 their works " will be more intelligible to us if we see the faces 
 as they were once ; when, even on earth, we used to learn 
 so much from studying their expression. Now, however, we 
 are to see them in a new light. The revelation of human 
 character in those about us will be only less wonderful than 
 the revelation of our LORD Himself. Familiar traits will have 
 been lost; instances of conduct will rise up on every side, 
 of which the quality had been determined by the verdict of 
 ages past, which are now proclaimed to have no such value as 
 was then supposed. Much that had seemed noblest and best- 
 intentioned of men's actions will be consumed as by fire. 
 Some again will be found very precious and CHRlST-like, but 
 never exactly what had been expected while the earthly strife 
 went on. Special attention is called by sacred writers to 
 the amazement that many will feel, when persons once their 
 companions and peers are set on a different level from that 
 which they had held in the estimation of the world. " Then 
 shall the righteous man stand in great boldness before the face 
 of them that afflicted him, and make his labours of no account. 
 When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and 
 shall be amazed at the marvel of GOD'S salvation." And the 
 estimation in which saints are to be held at last is of the 
 utmost practical importance to the whole Church. For these 
 are placed on the right hand of the Judge, and are His assessors 
 in the judgment ; in other words, our lives are brought into 
 comparison with theirs, next to CHRIST'S own. It has been 
 said that the witness of their obedience to CHRIST will be, for 
 His Church, quasi qucedam canonwn decretal So that, even by 
 
 1 Richard of S. Victor, quoted by S. Thorn. Aqu. (Suppl. qu. xxxvii. 
 art. i.).
 
 The Last Judgment. 309 
 
 this test, the discovery of one's own allotted place may be felt 
 as strange and humiliating. Or again, whether saints or not, 
 our fellow-creatures standing round will remind us of the general 
 obligation to show mercy to all CHRIST'S members. In some, 
 perhaps, will be visible traces of pain, that we might have 
 relieved ; in others, evidence of present exuberant joy, which 
 we cannot enter into now, because we thought scorn to do so 
 when we were their neighbours here below. How few have 
 cared to notice that gallant struggle of the poor to be cheerful 
 under manifold hardships ! Yet the LORD heard them and 
 delivered them out of their troubles ; and now their place of 
 honour is far higher than our own. And there, too, shall we 
 missionaries be confronted with the heathen we were sent to 
 save. Will they come forward to embrace us ? Will they be 
 set below us, or above ? These are some of the thoughts that 
 come crowding into our minds when we picture that immense 
 assemblage, before the Judgment-seat, of the bodies and souls 
 of our brethren. O the boundless sphere of Christian duty ! 
 What, in justice, ought one not to have done, having that 
 " royal law " to fulfil, " Love one another, as I have loved 
 you ? " 
 
 " Prassto sunt et cogitatus, verba, cursus, opera, 
 
 Et prae oculis nolentis glomerantur omnia ; 
 
 Illuc tendat, hue se vertat, coram videt posita. 1 
 
 VII. How will all this be known ? How shall we have 
 knowledge of CHRIST our Judge, of His saints, of our com- 
 panions (friends, enemies, sheep we had to tend) and of our 
 own deceitful hearts ? The general belief is, that every 
 individual will then, " in the twinkling of an eye," be endued 
 with faculties by which both to apprehend the presence of 
 CHRIST, and at the same moment, through the light of that 
 great Epiphany, to read the whole of human history his own, 
 or that of others. 2 Thus quickly will be revealed the earthly 
 course from first to last : desires of the heart will be made plain 
 
 1 From a hymn by Cardinal Pietro Damiani, in Archbishop Trench's 
 Collection of Sacred Latin Poetry. 
 
 2 This is S. Augustine's teaching (De Civ. Dei, xx. 14) : " Quasdam vis 
 est intelligenda divina, qua net ut cuique opera sua vel bona vel mala
 
 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 as well as words and actions, and the true relations of human 
 conduct, from one to another and from all to GOD, will be 
 adjusted once and for ever. To the conscience of each will 
 this be shown, and conscience will fix for itself the result, good 
 or evil. There, too will sentence be pronounced, 1 under 
 imperative direction from Him who sits on the Throne, but 
 with no inward resistance on the part of him who receives 
 it. " Their own thoughts one with another will be accus- 
 ing or else excusing them, in the day when GOD shall 
 judge the secrets of men's hearts." Those who are guilty will 
 scarcely need to hear Him say, " Depart from Me." They will 
 resemble that leprous king once at Jerusalem, who " himself 
 hasted to go out " from the Temple of the LORD, " because the 
 LORD had smitten him." 2 
 
 VIII. Yet, whatever discoveries may await us at the last 
 Day, it cannot be that they will reverse the judgment of self, 
 or the estimate of duty to GOD and man, formed by humble 
 souls in this life under guidance of the HOLY SPIRIT. If that 
 were so, penitence would die. The contemplation of that 
 terrible awakening of a long-blinded conscience would be 
 enough to quench it in black despair. Whereas, in reality, our 
 faith in the judgment to come should be stimulating to repent- 
 ance. As was said at the beginning of this chapter, it should 
 be the pre-eminent motive. The expectation of that strict 
 account does indeed forbid any trifling with the righteous anger 
 
 cuncta in memoriam revocentur, et mentis intuitu mira celeritate cernan- 
 tur." (These words are quoted by S. Thomas.) Pusey says, referring to 
 i Cor. iii. 13, " Each deed will be shown to us, one after the other, each 
 burning in more deeply the lesson of the other." (Sermon, Losses of the 
 saved.} The same view is adopted by Dr. Mason (Faith of the Gospel, p. 
 379-) 
 
 1 See S. Thomas Aqu. (Summa P. iii., Suppl. qu. xc. art. ii.). 
 
 2 2 Chron. xxvi. 20. And S. Chrysostom says (Horn. v. in Rom.), 
 et TIS cuff TIG iv ?x et *-" a ' vovv, ijSrj KCLI TTJV yeevvav i'TTffj.fivev, orav e S'^eojs yevTrrcu roO 
 Qtov. Compare the well-known lines from Ken's Morning Hymn : 
 
 ' Heaven is, dear LORD, where'er Thou art, 
 
 O, never then from me depart : 
 For to my soul, 'tis hell to be 
 
 But for one moment void of Thee." 
 
 To be " void of CHRIST " is, perhaps, the truest realisation of Hell that is 
 possible to us here.
 
 The Last Judgment. 311 
 
 of GOD. We may even appeal to it as our last and strongest 
 argument against that light-hearted optimism, the vanity of 
 which we have tried to expose in these pages. But when 
 that has been done, shall we not proceed to the resources at 
 our disposal, for meeting this awful Judge ? 
 
 We must not, indeed, allow ourselves in an opposite ex- 
 treme ; as if the last Judgment could make no difference to 
 pious Catholics to those, for instance, who have used sacra- 
 mental confession for many years. Between the feeble and 
 erring guide who discharges CHRIST'S priesthood upon earth, 
 and the supreme Arbiter Himself, bearing the keys of death 
 and Hades, the difference, alike in power and in discernment, is 
 unspeakable. Before His eyes, with whom we "have to do" at 
 the end, " all things are naked and laid open." And although 
 S. Paul thought principally of consoling the persecuted, when 
 he told how CHRIST, at His coming, would "both bring to light 
 the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels 
 of the hearts," 1 there is awful warning too, such as we cannot 
 but heed, in his contrast between that and anything that 
 happens here, in " the day of men." In short, the mention of 
 the Judgment is meant above all things to spur us on to greater 
 diligence in the use of self-examination. For truly, self-examin- 
 ation is the serious act of one ascending an indispensable 
 tribunal; which is, moreover, the only tribunal from which one 
 is permitted to pronounce sentence on an immortal soul. 
 Forbidden as we are to judge others, we are equally forbidden 
 not to test narrowly our own consciences, whether they be 
 " void of offence toward GOD and man." With growth of 
 experience comes increase of obligation. To every earnest- 
 minded man the constant thought is, like S. Paul's, " I am a 
 debtor." Year by year the field is enlarged : at what point can 
 he dare to pause in his efforts ? These which present them- 
 selves, are they not merely opportunities by neglecting which 
 he would offend both GOD and man for having neglected 
 
 1 So S. Chrysostom (on S. Matt. x. 26) asks, " Are you grieved because 
 men take you for deceivers ? Wait a little, and then <TUTTJPO.S yyuas /cat 
 evepytras rrjs olKovfj-^vr]? Trpo<repov(rii> Hiravres, And S. Jerome, on the same 
 passage, writes, " Nolite timere ; . . . quia veniet dies judicii, in quo et 
 vestra virtus et eorum nequitia demonstrabitur."
 
 312 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 which, he would be punished in the sight of GOD, his brethren, 
 and the holy angels, at the last Day ? 
 
 Thus, here especially, to be strict in self-examination is a 
 great and obvious lesson. S. Basil says that "he, who sets that 
 day and hour before his eyes, and continually reflects on the 
 account he must render before that inexorable tribunal, will 
 either sin not at all, or only in a slight degree." 1 And 
 S. Augustine speaks of this very earnestly, at considerable 
 length : 
 
 " In the penitence for greater sins, each person ought to use 
 greater severity with himself; that so, being judged of self, he 
 may not be judged of the LORD. So, if he fears to be 
 'manifested before the Judgment-seat of CHRIST,' where 'each 
 one will receive the things done in the body, whether good 
 or bad,' let him now ascend the tribunal of his own mind 
 against himself; let him set himself against himself. For GOD 
 threatens the sinner, saying, ' I will reprove thee, and set before 
 thee the things that thou hast done.' Thus, let judgment be 
 ordered in thine own heart also : let memory prosecute, con- 
 science give evidence, and fear chastise thee to confession. 2 
 Finally, let sentence be uttered, that such an one judges him- 
 self unworthy to receive the LORD'S Body and Blood. Thus, 
 he who is afraid of being separated from the Kingdom of 
 Heaven by the last sentence of the supreme Judge, will now be 
 separated by the Church's discipline from the Sacrament of the 
 Bread of Heaven. Let him keep before his eyes the image of 
 judgment to come. When others go up to GOD'S altar, and he 
 does not, he will think how terrible is the doom by which some 
 are hurled into everlasting death, though others are receiving 
 life eternal. The wicked indeed may approach this altar ; but 
 [if they do] they, ' after their hardness and impenitent heart, 
 treasure up for themselves wrath in the day of wrath and 
 revelation of the righteous judgment of GOD who will render to 
 every man according to his works.' And how shall any have 
 boldness to desire GOD to turn away His Face from his sins, if 
 
 1 See S. Basil (Ep. clxxiv. Ad viduam). 
 
 S. Augustine says in the same way in another place (Enarr. in Ps. 
 xlix. cap. xxviii.) : " Torqueat te timor, erumpat confessio."
 
 The Last Judgment. 313 
 
 he does not say now, with his whole heart, ' I acknowledge my 
 transgressions, and my sin is ever before me?'" 1 
 
 Yet, under this strict discipline, and in dread of the all- 
 seeing Eye, the penitent sinner already judges himself by the 
 same light that will be granted hereafter. The Confirmation- 
 gift has not lost its efficacy here, nor will its strength be 
 exhausted when the new life begins. A Christian's " continual 
 help " never ceases to be in that only " Spirit of truth " who 
 touched his heart at the hour of his first conversion. If here, 
 in this present trial, he is taught of GOD in the ways of fear 
 and love, that holy fear will embolden his approach to the 
 Divine Judge, 2 and that " most excellent gift of charity " will 
 be his passport to the better country, where all his brethren 
 wait for him, at the last great gathering. Thus the scrutiny of 
 self, slight and imperfect though it must be under present 
 conditions for no strictness of endeavour really compensates 
 for dimness of vision does establish each " honest and good 
 heart " in the hope that he may live and die in GOD'S peace. 
 Whatever he may know now, of his true state before GOD, he 
 both prays to know, and accepts humbly and firmly. But it is 
 certain that he cannot know all, while this " night " continues, 
 and until that " Day breaks, and the shadows flee away." 
 
 Our King cometh. Let us then, as S. Chrysostom would 
 have us, "come first before His Face with confession." 3 And 
 S. Ambrose, "Prevent thine accuser : if thou accuse thyself, thou 
 shalt have none other accuser to fear." 4 But Bishop Ken 
 proceeds farther with his consolation : " Though their love in 
 this life is always imperfect, how can they despond, when they 
 shall have love for their Judge love that hath felt and will 
 compassionate all their infirmities?" 5 " GOD is greater than 
 our heart, and knoweth all things." He will not condemn His 
 children because they attained not to the love " which passeth 
 knowledge." 
 
 1 See S. Aug. (Serin, cccli. 7). - Compare Heb. x. 19-23. 
 
 3 See S. Chrysostom (Horn, xxiii. in 1 Cor.) : irpo<j>66.<riaiJ.ev TO -n-pofftatrov 
 avrov tv (^onoXoytffffi, 'iva. /XT? aTreXdovres tvrfvOtv a.vavo\6jttroi, rr\v i(j~)(o.Ti}v 
 
 4 See S. Ambrose (De Pcenit. II. vii.). 
 
 5 See Bishop Ken's Practice of Divine Love, part. II.
 
 314 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 IX. In TV, Domine, speravi ; non confundar in (Sternum. 
 There may be even " boldness in the Day of Judgment " for 
 repenting sinners. The " appearing of the glory of our 
 great GOD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST " was to S. Paul a 
 " blessed hope," to be looked for with all sober earnestness. 
 Our Judge was for our sakes truly made Man. He was born 
 of a human Mother. He refused not our joys, He bare our 
 griefs and sorrows. Yet in two things His manhood stands up 
 before us sole, unapproachable, terribly remote : 
 
 The first difference is entire and beyond all reckoning : He 
 alone is wholly free from sin. Thank GOD ! it is no absolute 
 barrier to Christian penitents. Even before that presence, 
 where " the sun shineth in his strength," penitence finds a lowly 
 footing which is secure. He whose confidence is in " the Blood 
 which cleanseth from all sin," walks in the light as JESUS 
 CHRIST is in the light. The difference between him and his 
 LORD is then as if it existed no longer. This, the soul's first 
 plea at its conversion, will also be its last plea at the Judgment; 
 but none other can be accepted. 
 
 " Rex tremendae majestatis, 
 Qui salvandos salvas gratis, 
 Salva me, fons pietatis. 
 Recordare, Jesu pie, 
 Quod sum causa tuae vise, 
 Ne me perdas ilia die." 
 
 The second difference is of degree only. Each one of us 
 has received grace which sanctifies, but to Him the HOLY 
 SPIRIT was given " without measure." What the fruit of this 
 plenary indwelling was we trace, albeit dimly, from time 
 to time. His speech was human, yet " never man spake 
 like this man." His prayers were human, but He would pass 
 whole nights in prayer to His FATHER. His fasting was 
 human, but for our sake He fasted forty days and forty nights. 
 His grief was human, His love was human ; but His grief was 
 agony, and His love embraced a whole sinful world. This is 
 not like the first difference. Yet at how enormous a distance 
 even this places us, from Him whom " the FATHER sanctified 
 and sent into the world ! " Alas ! we talk of great men and
 
 The Last Judgment. 315 
 
 noble, we build their monuments, we spread abroad their fame. 
 Shall we speak of them any more then, standing opposite to 
 those wounds that glory out of deep dishonour? What 
 shall we ever have known till then, of what it meant, and what 
 it cost, to say, " Lo ! I come to do Thy will, O GOD ? " 
 
 But now, when comparison has thus been truly made, so 
 far as we could make it, are not His consoling angels near to 
 " set us on our knees," indeed, and yet to place us where we 
 can look up and receive comfort ? CHRIST'S redeemed are the 
 sheep whom He " leads forth : " their faces are set the same way 
 as His, and they are not out of hearing of His voice. It is no 
 paradox, that the very consciousness of being so far behind sends 
 them more eagerly forward. Hardly hoping or expecting to 
 abridge the distance, they still press on, because it is their 
 Beloved who calls them. There can be no sort of reckoning of 
 gain by progress. We may try to do some of the same works 
 that He did ; we cannot dare to guess how far our intention and 
 " manner of spirit " fall short of His. Perhaps those are often 
 nearest who scarcely think of themselves as gaining ground at all. 
 
 Why speculate on such matters ? Why concern oneself 
 with doubts and guesses ? What is certain is, that, for faithful 
 servants treading in His steps, CHRIST has a welcome 
 however feeble may have been their imitation, however 
 immense the interval between them and Himself. His rewards 
 are not measured by their desert, but by the abundance of a 
 Redeemer's love. And they will receive what He has to 
 bestow, in full measure, at the last Judgment. " After a long 
 time the LORD of those servants cometh, and maketh a 
 reckoning with them. And he that had received the five 
 talents came and brought other five talents, saying, LORD, 
 Thou deliveredst unto me five talents ; lo, I have gained other 
 five talents. His LORD said unto him, Well done, good and 
 faithful servant : thou hast been faithful over a few things, I 
 will set thee over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy 
 LORD." When JESUS comes, some of His servants will be 
 "seated" by Him "on thrones, judging;" 1 or, as we read 
 
 1 The words in S. Matt. xix. 27, 28, have sometimes been understood 
 as limited to those who make themselves poor for CHRIST'S sake. See,
 
 3i 6 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 again, " made to sit down with Him in His Throne." Not 
 they, indeed, are thus promoted, but rather CHRIST in them ; 
 for they have begun to realise that fervent wish of the apostle, 
 " that CHRIST may dwell in your heart by faith." While 
 sinners, unable to bear the victory of the Crucified, are driven 
 forth with confounded gaze into the darkness of an eternal 
 separation, these happy ones are more than reassured by the 
 sight of Him whom they have served and loved so long. 
 Something is there that answers to the earnest desires of their 
 hearts, and labours of many years. Something that strangely 
 revives memories of the Blessed Sacrament, and the " burnt- 
 offering" of a surrendered will; something that tells of what was 
 once weak and in small part, taken now into the glory of the 
 eternal world ; of conditional acceptance exchanged for a com- 
 pleted union between the Saviour and the saved. " FATHER, 
 I will that where I am, they also may be with Me, that they 
 may behold My glory which Thou hast given Me." 1 
 
 We know, too, that, in the union of the Master with His 
 disciples, is comprised the union of Christian penitents one 
 with another. They who encountered the same temptations 
 and bore the same burdens, for the most part " mourning 
 apart " though aided by the combined intercessions of the 
 faithful, will now understand, through unreserved mutual 
 confidence, that " the warfare " of each and all is most surely 
 " accomplished." Therefore was it announced to S. John that, 
 in the coming glory, GOD should " wipe away every tear from 
 His people's eyes." The end of the short purgatory of 
 repentance is to enter the ranks of a Church whose triumph is 
 begun, and to reign with CHRIST for ever. For " whosoever 
 shall exalt himself shall be abased ; and whosoever shall 
 humble himself shall be exalted." 
 
 for instance, S. Augustine (Enarr. in Ps. xlix. cap. viii. 9) : S. Thomas 
 Aqu. (Suppl. qu. xci. art. 2). But probably our LORD'S promise would 
 extend to all who have practised heroic self-denial ; not excluding those 
 whose abnegation of self was made in earnest reparation for years 
 perhaps many years wasted in sin. 
 
 1 In a sense, the saints even contribute and add to the glory of their 
 LORD. As S. Leo says, " Non potest nisi gloria esse Christi cujuslibet 
 meritum Christiani."
 
 Conclusion. 317 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 I AM unwilling to let these pages pass out of my hands 
 without an expression of very honest regret for many 
 omissions. Chiefly, for the slight mention of that which is the 
 supreme source of hope to a Church and nation that have 
 sinned like ours the Precious Blood of CHRIST. It is true 
 that one's subject had to be limited by careful restriction ; and 
 where the desire was to treat of " the use," or practice, " of 
 Penitence," words of fervent exhortation might have appeared 
 somewhat out of place. The author was at liberty to quote 
 primitive saints recommending a certain path to be followed, 
 but would scarcely have been justified in assuming that his 
 readers had not begun for themselves, with that "foundation 
 other than which can no man lay, which is JESUS CHRIST." 
 
 And yet, with the sense of sin waning on every side, what 
 could be done well, unless by quoting the one saving Name ? 
 Of what avail are inferior arguments ? What good have they 
 ever effected ? To show how contrite spirits may make a 
 truthful confession, to lay down prudent rules of living, to 
 disarm prejudice alas ! how completely useless is all this, 
 unless there has first been willing response to the Voice that 
 bids, " Come unto Me, and I will give you rest ! " But, for all 
 our heedless indifference, the great cause is not lost, while the 
 virtue of CHRIST'S Atonement lives on. Presented to the 
 observation of men, nay, to their boldest criticism from the first 
 day onward ; rising victorious from the contempt of the 
 scornful, and from bitter conflict with the most daring heresies ; 
 the Atonement is still fresh, striking, and eloquent, still 
 invincible in its truth, still profoundly moving by its tenderness. 
 " He loved me, and gave Himself up for me." " And in none
 
 318 The Use of Penitence. 
 
 other is there salvation : for neither is there any other name 
 under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be 
 saved." 
 
 That is what I should have said. I am not blaming myself 
 for absolute silence ; but I ought to have said what I did say, a 
 hundred times oftener. I ought to have trusted my readers 
 with this simple thought, comprising, in itself, the whole 
 compass of an eternal Pity embracing a guilty world : " When 
 we were yet sinners, CHRIST died for us." Let my own 
 confession stand by the side of those (if any) that have been 
 elicited by the reasoning in former chapters. 
 
 O CRUX, AVE, SPES UNICA ! In the Cross resides the only 
 hope " of all the ends of the earth ; " and the only hope for the 
 people of England. From age to age, GOD'S predestined souls 
 make that discovery, and turn to look on the dying Face of 
 One whom they can always trust to whose compassionate 
 Heart there is ever ready access. As they look, the idols that 
 they have worshipped crumble into dust ; the hard self- 
 complacency of long years is broken by the healthful wound of 
 sincere compunction. Sometimes a whole generation passes, 
 and makes no sign : the world would seem to have utterly 
 banished the Crucified. " GOD looked down from heaven upon 
 the children of men, to see if there were any that did 
 understand." All that appeared was the mere self-satisfaction 
 of a dominant race, a pride little better than the old essential 
 paganism. But then, perhaps with hardly a sign of expecta- 
 tion, and no word of prophecy going before, there came a 
 beginning of return to the old child-like faith. Who can say 
 what caused it ? " The SPIRIT bloweth where He listeth." 
 But we " hear the sound thereof." 
 
 When this book was begun two years ago, a wave of 
 secularity was smoothly swelling, till it threatened to engulf 
 the whole spiritual life of our people. At the present moment, 
 though society still wears for the most part the same false face, 
 some of us have begun to know ourselves far more truly and 
 justly. There is no longer the same wholesale reticence 
 concerning sin. Conversion is once more preached. Earnest 
 people are pointing the way to truth and peace, only to be won
 
 Conclusion. 319 
 
 at the foot of JESUS' Cross. And many are striving to follow 
 that leading. Perhaps they go, at first, because they are tired 
 of frivolity ; perhaps, because sorrow and bereavement have 
 come to their house. And then, perhaps, they blame the dear 
 Saviour, because He has not spared them this heart-ache so 
 well deserved. Yet they are looking to where He is ; and He 
 waits for them to come. Presently they will seek Him with all 
 the strength of soul that is still theirs. Sin has not wasted all : 
 they will yet be spared to offer the contrite heart ; and when- 
 ever they do, it will be the sure sign that they have found their 
 Saviour. 
 
 Shall we, then, urge them to go to confession as the Church 
 directs ? Nay, leave them where they are, at His Feet. His 
 Wounds will teach the rest of their lesson. 
 
 " Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious Blood 
 
 Shall never lose its power, 
 Till all the ransomed Church of GOD 
 Be saved, to sin no more."
 
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