But of the true priesthood there is more need than there ever was,
as the minds of men awaken to the truth; for in a world where there
is so much that is dark, men need to be constantly encouraged,
reminded, even rebuked. The true priest must leave the social
conscience alone, and entrust it to the hands of statesmen and
officials. His concern must be with the individual; he must
endeavour to make men realize that tranquillity and security of
heart can only be won by victories over self, that law is only a
cumbrous and incomplete organization for enforcing upon men a sense
of equality; and he must show how far law lags behind morality, and
that a man may be legally respectable yet morally abominable. The
true priest must not obscure the oracles of God; he must beware of,
teaching that faith is an intricate intellectual process. He must
pare religion to the bone, and show that the essence of it is a
perfectly simple relation with God and neighbour. He must not
concern himself with policy or ceremony; he must warn men against
mistaking aesthetic impulse for the perception of virtue; he must
fight against precedent and tradition and custom; he must realize
that one point of union is more important than a hundred points of
difference. He must set himself against upholsteries and uniforms,
against formalities and rituals. He must abjure wealth and
position, in favour of humble kindliness and serviceableness. He
must have a sense of poetry and romance and beauty about life;
where other men are artists in words, in musical tones, in pigments
or sculptured stone, he must be an artist in virtue. He must be the
friend and lover of humble, inefficient, inarticulate, unpleasing
persons; and he must be able to show that there is a desirable
quality of beauty in the most sordid and commonplace action, if
faithfully performed.