nd a silent mother make mournful, or, which is
far worse, hard children. Need I add that, if any one, hearing the
injunction to let his light shine, makes himself shine instead, it is
because the light is not in him!

But what shall I say of such as, in the name of religion, let only their
darkness out--the darkness of worshipped opinion, the darkness of
lip-honour and disobedience! Such are those who tear asunder the body of
Christ with the explosives of dispute, on the plea of such a unity as
alone they can understand, namely a paltry uniformity. What have not the
'good church-man' and the 'strong dissenter' to answer for, who, hiding
what true light they have, if indeed they have any, each under the
bushel of his party-spirit, radiate only repulsion! There is no schism,
none whatever, in using diverse forms of thought or worship: true
honesty is never schismatic. The real schismatic is the man who turns
away love and justice from the neighbour who holds theories in religious
philosophy, or as to church-constitution, different from his own; who
denies or avoids his brother because he follows not with him; who calls
him a schismatic because he prefers this or that mode of public worship
not his. The other _may_ be schismatic; he himself certainly _is_. He
walks in the darkness of opinion, not in the light of life, not in the
faith which worketh by love. Worst of all is division in the name of
Christ who came to make one. Neither Paul nor Apollos nor Cephas
would--least of all will Christ be the leader of any party save that of
his own elect, the party of love--of love which suffereth long and is
kind; which envieth not, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself
unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil,
rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all
things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

'Let your light shine,' says the Lord:--if I have none, the call cannot
apply to me; but I must bethink me, lest, in the night I am cherishing
about me, the Lord come upon me like a thief. There may be those,
however, and I think they are numerous, who, having some, or imagining
they have much light, yet have not enough to know the duty of letting it
shine on their neighbours. The Lord would have his men so alive with his
light, that it should for ever go flashing from each to all, and all,
with eternal response, keep glorifying the Father. Dost thou look