登陆注册
14833700000007

第7章

Do not think it. Great men do not play stage tricks with the doctrines of life and death: only little men do that. Milton means what he says; and means it with his might too--is going to put the whole strength of his spirit presently into the saying of it. For though not a lover of false bishops, he WAS a lover of true ones;and the Lake-pilot is here, in his thoughts, the type and head of true episcopal power. For Milton reads that text, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven," quite honestly. Puritan though he be, he would not blot it out of the book because there have been bad bishops; nay, in order to understand HIM, we must understand that verse first; it will not do to eye it askance, or whisper it under our breath, as if it were a weapon of an adverse sect. It is a solemn, universal assertion, deeply to be kept in mind by all sects. But perhaps we shall be better able to reason on it if we go on a little farther, and come back to it. For clearly this marked insistence on the power of the true episcopate is to make us feel more weightily what is to be charged against the false claimants of episcopate; or generally, against false claimants of power and rank in the body of the clergy; they who, "for their bellies' sake, creep, and intrude, and climb into the fold."Never think Milton uses those three words to fill up his verse, as a loose writer would. He needs all the three;--especially those three, and no more than those--"creep," and "intrude," and "climb;"no other words would or could serve the turn, and no more could be added. For they exhaustively comprehend the three classes, correspondent to the three characters, of men who dishonestly seek ecclesiastical power. First, those who "CREEP" into the fold; who do not care for office, nor name, but for secret influence, and do all things occultly and cunningly, consenting to any servility of office or conduct, so only that they may intimately discern, and unawares direct, the minds of men. Then those who "intrude"(thrust, that is) themselves into the fold, who by natural insolence of heart, and stout eloquence of tongue, and fearlessly perseverant self-assertion, obtain hearing and authority with the common crowd.

Lastly, those who "climb," who, by labour and learning, both stout and sound, but selfishly exerted in the cause of their own ambition, gain high dignities and authorities, and become "lords over the heritage," though not "ensamples to the flock."Now go on:-

"Of other care they little reckoning make, Than how to scramble at the shearers' feast.

BLIND MOUTHS--"

I pause again, for this is a strange expression; a broken metaphor, one might think, careless and unscholarly.

Not so: its very audacity and pithiness are intended to make us look close at the phrase and remember it. Those two monosyllables express the precisely accurate contraries of right character, in the two great offices of the Church--those of bishop and pastor.

A "Bishop" means "a person who sees."

A "Pastor" means "a person who feeds."

The most unbishoply character a man can have is therefore to be Blind.

The most unpastoral is, instead of feeding, to want to be fed,--to be a Mouth.

Take the two reverses together, and you have "blind mouths." We may advisably follow out this idea a little. Nearly all the evils in the Church have arisen from bishops desiring POWER more than LIGHT.

They want authority, not outlook. Whereas their real office is not to rule; though it may be vigorously to exhort and rebuke: it is the king's office to rule; the bishop's office is to OVERSEE the flock; to number it, sheep by sheep; to be ready always to give full account of it. Now it is clear he cannot give account of the souls, if he has not so much as numbered the bodies, of his flock. The first thing, therefore, that a bishop has to do is at least to put himself in a position in which, at any moment, he can obtain the history, from childhood, of every living soul in his diocese, and of its present state. Down in that back street, Bill, and Nancy, knocking each other's teeth out!--Does the bishop know all about it?

Has he his eye upon them? Has he HAD his eye upon them? Can he circumstantially explain to us how Bill got into the habit of beating Nancy about the head? If he cannot, he is no bishop, though he had a mitre as high as Salisbury steeple; he is no bishop,--he has sought to be at the helm instead of the masthead; he has no sight of things. "Nay," you say, "it is not his duty to look after Bill in the back street." What! the fat sheep that have full fleeces--you think it is only those he should look after while (go back to your Milton) "the hungry sheep look up, and are not fed, besides what the grim wolf, with privy paw" (bishops knowing nothing about it), "daily devours apace, and nothing said"?

"But that's not our idea of a bishop."Perhaps not; but it was St. Paul's; and it was Milton's. They may be right, or we may be;but we must not think we are reading either one or the other by putting our meaning into their words.

I go on.

同类推荐
  • 韩愈集

    韩愈集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 渔庄邂逅录

    渔庄邂逅录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 震泽纪闻

    震泽纪闻

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 台案汇录庚集

    台案汇录庚集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 太清五十八愿文

    太清五十八愿文

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 石介的忧伤

    石介的忧伤

    一梦醒来,发现自己变高变帅了,石介本来只是准备在周围刷刷脸钓一两妹子,从来没有想到自己会刷脸刷到全世界去。石介看了看周围的美女们,作死的捏了捏脸
  • 特工狂妃

    特工狂妃

    金牌特工穿越到被继母养废的嫡长女身上,面对唯利是图的渣爹,虚伪狠辣的继母,自私阴毒的妹妹……呵呵,你要宅斗,我来武斗!状元,我们已经退婚了,别来纠缠我。公子,近亲结婚是不好的。殿下,您明天就要登基了……还是赶快回宫吧。还有那个什么王爷,谋反是很烧脑的工作,就不要在我这里浪费时间了!【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 沉默的玻璃又名:玻璃的我

    沉默的玻璃又名:玻璃的我

    在迪拜风头正起的邸氏集团备受瞩目,集团驻迪拜的行政总裁邸恩惠是邸氏集团创始人的独女。但媒体曝光邸恩惠有精神病史和孤独症史而让集团上下备受争议。然而在争议背后又隐藏着巨大的阴谋,以至于被国际恐怖组织绑架。邱明泽身为中国特种部队幽冥队的队长接受解救人质的任务,然而这只是故事的开始。
  • 指点江山:毛泽东诗词故事

    指点江山:毛泽东诗词故事

    毛泽东不仅是伟大的政治家、思想家、军事家,而且是才华横溢、独树一帜的诗人。毛泽东诗词艺术地记录了他一生的光辉足迹,生动地展示了中国革命和建设的伟大历史画卷,是一部中国人民的理想史、奋斗史、创造史和建设史。本书根据十集电视文献纪录片《指点江山一一毛泽东诗词故事》及其解说词编辑而成,精选毛泽东诗词36首,从言志、战争、爱情、友情、乡情、咏物、山水和建设等方面,以诗意的语言、生动的画面,深度解析诗词的丰富思想内涵和高度艺术成就,同时从诗、书、画、景等入手,结合毛泽东诗词背后的故事以及对这些诗词的赏析,形象地展示了毛泽东的伟大精神世界和革命领袖风采。
  • 阎王老婆太难追

    阎王老婆太难追

    婚前某男:“我觉得这年头太不安全了,随时可能被人骗走,不如,你就跟我结婚吧,我来保护你。”某女:“不,外面桃花如此精彩,我才不要进入坟墓”骗婚成功后某男:“老婆,我们来亲一个~”某女:“不要,你是男的。”某男:“可是,我是你老公啊”某女:“哦,那我喜欢女的”于是,某男以惊吓过度为由直接将某女拐带到了床上……
  • 疯狂的灵天师

    疯狂的灵天师

    当奚枫是一名普通修士时,他是天才中的天才,令得那些自诩天才的修士们全都黯然失色。当奚枫换上一张陌生的假面时,他是一名疯狂的灵天师,对敌人杀伐果断,毫不留情,令敌人闻风丧胆,但不论是谁都无法在事后寻到他的踪迹,而且,整个仙灵大陆最强的三大宗门都在以天价悬赏他的行踪。而奚枫要做的就是,让敌人全都跪伏在他的面前颤抖!
  • 传世剑尊

    传世剑尊

    一剑之下,破碎虚空,新的纪元与时代即将到来,百万年的是一个轮回,也是一个新时代的积淀,用尽毕生之力又能否打破神的诅咒。一剑一人,泼墨江湖,游戏人间,笑对苍穹。
  • 出身豪门:谁怕谁

    出身豪门:谁怕谁

    她,"魍魉"的宫主,皇甫家的千金大小姐,万里挑一的美女,万里挑一的王者,白天,她是冰冷的女王,黑夜,她是黑夜中的幽灵。他,“魄冰”的帮主,上官家的少爷,人见人爱的面庞。当她遇见了他,当她爱上了他,当他伤害了她,当她离开了他,当她遇见了另一个他。他们又会擦出怎样的火花。
  • 奶爸永恒

    奶爸永恒

    奶爸系统加身,什么?你以为我就会加加血?嘿嘿,嘿嘿。嘿嘿嘿...
  • 第一萌妻:老公太腹黑

    第一萌妻:老公太腹黑

    “林思思,最近你又长本事了吧!”苏言眼都不眨的盯着林思思以及她旁边的迷你版的小家伙,似笑非笑的说。“苏言,他我可以解释的...我和他不熟!”林思思必要时刻很仗义的抛弃了自己的儿子。“解释,我倒要看看你怎么解释!”说完,他俯身就亲了上去,还顺带扔了一个枕头恐吓旁边看的起劲的小苏洛,“出去!”