For heroism and holiness we have an unspeakable
reverence. The saints and poets and sages of all time are the choicest
gifts of God. The virtue, the beauty and the devotion that now shine in
the lives of private men and women, still assure us that all is not and
cannot be a failure. The ultimate result of the life of humanity will
doubtless be found in symmetrical and harmonious individuals; and in a
perfect Christianity we shall look to see an angelic love radiant from
every face. But while there is disease and imperfection in any part of
the human body, there cannot be perfect health in any other part; just
so while there is disease and imperfection in humanity, of which the
human body is an image, there cannot be perfect health in any
individual. Perfect men and women are possible only in a perfect
society.
Finally, the sum of our remarks on the relation of Association to
Christianity, is briefly this: Association fulfils the promise of
Christianity; it shows the means whereby peace on earth and goodwill
among men are to be realized. It harmonizes the forms and relations of
society with the spirit of Christianity; in a word, it makes them forms
and relations of brotherly love, and not of selfishness and discord,
and thereby renders possible the accomplishment of the final aim of
Christianity, which is the salvation and spiritual life of universal
humanity.
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