fore all else; then, because he gets accustomed to the
sight of only such good as seeks for notice, and therefore easily
succumbs to the temptation to live himself for appearances. Not only
must one be resigned to obscurity, he must love it, if he does not wish
to slip insensibly into the ranks of figurants, who preserve their parts
only while under the eyes of the spectators, and put off in the wings
the restraints imposed on the stage. Here we are in the presence of one
of the essential elements of the moral life. And this which we say is
true not only for those who are called humble and whose lot it is to
pass unremarked; it is just as true, and more so, for the chief actors.
If you would not be a brilliant inutility, a man of gold lace and
plumes, but empty inside, you must play the star role in the simple
spirit of the most obscure of your collaborators. He who is nothing
worth except on hours of parade, is worth less than nothing. Have we the
perilous honor of being always in view, of marching in the front ranks?
Let us take so much the greater care of the sanctuary of silent good
within us. Let us give to the structure whose facade is seen of our
fellow-men, a wide foundation of simplicity, of humble fidelity. And
then, out of sympathy, out of gratitude, let us stay near our brothers
who are unknown to fame. We owe everything to them--do we not? I call to
witness everyone who has found in life this encouraging experience, that
stones hidden in the soil hold up the whole edifice. All those who
arrive at having a public and recognized value, owe it to some humble
spiritual ancestors, to some forgotten inspirers. A small number of the
good, among them simple women, peasants, vanquished heroes, parents as
modest as they are revered, personify for us beautiful and noble living;
their example inspires us and gives us strength. The remembrance of them
is forever inseparable from that conscience before which we arraign
ourselves. In our hours of trial, we think of them, courageous and
serene, and our burdens lighten. In clouds they compass us about, these
witnesses invisible and beloved who keep us from stumbling and our feet
from falling in the battle; and day by day do they prove to us that the
treasure of humanity is its hidden goodness.

X

THE WORLD AND THE LIFE OF THE HOME

In the time of the Second Empire, in one of our pleasantest
sub-prefectures of the provinces, a little way from some baths
frequente