XI. SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS IDEALS OF CHARACTER. HIS is the end of that beautiful verse in which THIS St. Paul tells us how the inner chambers of the Christian heart ought to be furnished. When we are alone and unoccupied, when we are at home to ourselves, we ought to find ourselves in a house that is neither the lurking-place of unclean spirits, nor empty, swept, and garnished, but fragrant with the memories of things true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. And he drives home his exhortation by appealing to two springs of action which are not often mentioned in the New Testament-virtue, or self-respect, and the desire of praise. It is very much as if he said to the Philippians, "I appeal to you, for this once, not only as Christians, but as gentlemen." There is still, and there was in St. Paul's time, a religion of civilisation-an independent, lay-religion, side by side with the official religion of priests and Churches. In the classical age it had its centre in the schools of philosophy, and its sacred literature in the books of the great moral philosophers. The New Testament writers seldom appeal to this body of ethical And teaching, which we, after so long a lapse of time, still think worthy of a high place in a course of liberal education. St. Paul, except in this passage, does not care to arouse the familiar elevating associations which had gathered round the word ȧpern. Christianity was at this time being preached as a new message, and it preferred to make its own dialect. It made but small use of Karía and ȧpeтý; it introduced the new word άyán, and gave it at once a central position; it raised Taπewóτns from a vice of slaves to a virtue of free men, and degraded evтpareλía-the wit of which the Athenian was proud-to a place among the "things which are not convenient." yet, without wishing to extenuate the divergence between pagan and Christian ethics, my text may remind us of a somewhat obvious truth which seems in this connection to be often forgotten: I mean that teachers, whether in religious or secular matters, do not dwell most on those things which their hearers know best already, but take these things for granted, and enlarge on other points about which they have something fresh to say. It is rather unreasonable to blame the New Testament writers for not expatiating on the duties of friendship and citizenship, and the elevating influence of art-the very points on which paganism was strong; nor, if we are thinking of the Gospels, would such exhortations have been very appropriate in talking to Galilean peasants. It is surely more natural to suppose that both our Lord and St. Paul meant to give a tacit sanction to current ethics except |