nt the harlot back to her shame, one with less love might have driven
Peter into permanent apostasy. But Jesus, in His understanding of the
human heart, knew the exact limit of reproof, the exact point at which
magnanimity became efficacious in redemption. Those who follow His
spirit will attain the same rare wisdom. They will never sacrifice
virtue to compassion, nor will they put virtue in opposition to
compassion. One question may suffice. Would we be content to leave
the administration of society in the hands of Jesus? Would we
confidently submit our own case to His jurisdiction? If, in every
dispute between men and nations, in every case of wrong and crime,
Jesus were the one Arbiter, would the world be better ruled, would the
probable course of events be such as to increase the sum of human
happiness? We can scarcely hesitate in the reply--we, who daily pray
that His kingdom may come. And if to such questions we return our
inevitable affirmative, we cannot doubt that society has everything to
gain in being governed by those who live most closely in the spirit of
Jesus; that they, and they only, are the true leaders and judges of the
nations.

THE BUILDERS OF THE EMPIRE

_THE PRAYER_

_Lover of souls, indeed,
But Lover of bodies too,
Seeing in human flesh
The God shine through;
Hallowed be Thy name,
And, for the sake of Thee,
Hallowed be all men,
For Thine they be._

_Doer of deeds divine,
Thou, the Father's Son,
In all Thy children may
Thy will be done,
Till each works miracles
On poor and sick and blind,
Learning from Thee the art
Of being kind._

_For Thine is the glory of love,
And Thine the tender power,
Touching the barren heart
To leaf and flower,
Till not the lilies alone,
Beneath Thy gentle feet,
But human lives for Thee
Grow white and sweet._

_And Thine shall the Kingdom be,
Thou Lord of Love and Pain,
Conqueror over death
By being slain.
And we, with the lives like Thine
Shall cry in the great day when
Thou earnest to claim Thine own,
"All Hail! Amen."_

XIV

THE BUILDERS OF THE EMPIRE

It may be long before the world recognizes this leadership of the
loving, and accepts their judgment, but nevertheless the world is
debtor to them for all that sweetens life, and makes society tolerable.
Such men and women move unrecognized, doing their kindly work without