and, standing aloof as
impartial spectators, consider the direction in which they are taking
us.

This counsel is frequently urged on grounds of health, since the
wear and tear of too intense absorption in any pursuit is apt to
wreck the nervous system. I urge it on the ground of mental sanity,
since a man cannot maintain his mental poise if he follows the
object of his devotion singly, without seeing it in relation to other
objects. And I urge it also on the ground of spirituality, for a
salient characteristic of spirituality is calmness, and without the
mental repose which comes of detachment we cannot import
calmness into our lives. There are some persons, notably among
those engaged in philanthropic activities, who glory in being
completely engrossed in their tasks, and who hug a secret sense of
martyrdom, when late at night, perhaps worn out in mind and
body, they throw themselves upon their couch to snatch a few
hours of insufficient sleep. Great occasions, of course, do occur
when every thought of self should be effaced in service; but as a
rule, complete absorption in philanthropic activity is as little sane
and as little moral as complete absorption in the race for gain. The
tired and worn-out worker cannot do justice to others, nor can he
do justice to that inner self whose demands are not satisfied even
by philanthropic activity. If, then, self-recollection is essential, let
us make daily provision for it. Some interest we should have--even
worldly prudence counsels this much--as far remote as possible
from our leading interest; and beyond that, some book belonging
to the world's great spiritual literature on which we may daily feed.
The Bible used to be in the old days all-sufficient for this purpose,
and it is still, in part at least, an admirable aid to those who know
how to use it. But there are other books, such as the legacy of the
great Stoics, the writings of our latter-day prophets, the essays of
Arnold and Carlyle and Emerson, the wisdom of Goethe. These
noble works, even if they do not wholly satisfy us, serve to set
our thoughts in motion about high concerns, and give to the mind
a spiritual direction.

A second condition of the spiritual life has been expressed in
the precept, reiterated in many religions, by many experts in things
relating to the life of the soul: "Live as if this hour were thy last."
You will recall, as I pronounce these words, the _memento mori_
of the Ancients, their cus