e
said. "Ah, yes, but is it not still harder altogether to refuse me?
You are quite alive to the smaller difficulties of my position, but you
seem to be quite unaware of the difficulties of your own position. You
busy yourself with straining out the gnat which floats on the surface
of your glass, but you do not seem to observe the residuary camel."

So with his splendid satire Jesus turns the critical temper back upon
itself. Difficulties enough, God knows, there are in every
intellectual position, and intellectual certainty usually means the
abnegation of the thinking faculty.

But many persons strain out the little difficulties and swallow the
great ones. What is, {191} on the whole, the best working theory of
life?--that is the only practical question. Under which view of life
do the facts, on the whole, best fall? Especially, what conception of
life holds the highest facts, the great irresistible spring-tides,
which sometimes rise within the soul, of hope and love and desire? So
Browning's Bishop, turning on his critic, says:--

"And now what are we? unbelievers both,
Calm and complete, determinately fixed
To-day, to-morrow, and forever, pray?
You'll guarantee me that? Not so, I think.
In nowise! All we've gained is, that belief,
As unbelief before, shakes us by fits,
Confounds us like its predecessor. Where's
The gain? How can we guard our unbelief,
Make it bear fruit to us? The problem's here.
Just when we are safest, there's a sunset-touch,
A fancy from a flower-bell, some one's death,
A chorus-ending from Euripides,--
And that's enough for fifty hopes and fears
As old and new at once as nature's self,
To rap and knock and enter in our soul,
Take hands and dance there, a fantastic ring,
Round the ancient idol, on his base again,--
* * * * * * *
What have we gained then by our unbelief
But a life of doubt diversified by faith,
For one of faith diversified by doubt.
We called the chessboard white,--we call it black."

{192}

LXXVII

KNOWING GOD, AND BEING KNOWN OF HIM

_Galatians_ iv. 9.

It is very interesting to come so close to a great man as we do in this
passage, for the Apostle seems to be discovered here, correcting
himself. It is as if he had written one teaching to the Galatians, and
then crossed it out and written another. "You know God," he says, "or
rather you are known of Him." He is asking himself