means in their power, they fought for their ego and against all sympathy for others (especially for their sufferings and moral imperfections). Perhaps they would answer us: “If you feel yourselves such dull or plain objects, think of others more than of yourselves. You will do the right thing!”
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Christianity dying away in morality.—"On n'est bon que par la pitié: il fant done qu'il y ait quelque pitié dans tous nos sentiments"—so preaches morality in our days. And whence comes this? That sympathetic, disinterested, benevolent, social actions are now felt to be characteristics of the moral man—nay, perhaps be the most universal effect and change of tone which Christianity has brought about in Europe, though this has been neither its intention nor its doctrine. But it was the residuum of Christian moods, when the very contrary, utterly selfish faith in the "One thing is needful," that is, the absolute importance of the eternal, personal salvation, together with the dogmas on which it rested, had gradually receded, and the accompanying belief in "love" and "charity," in accordance with the enormous practice of the Church, was thereby pushed into the foreground. The further the dogmas were departed from, the more a justification for this departure was aimed at in a cult of philanthropy: not to fall short of the Christin ideal in this point, but, if possible, to excel
