When our
Lord hung upon the cross, the jeering soldiers shouted, "He saved
others, himself he cannot save." No, he could not; and his inability
seemed to them ridiculous, while it was in reality his glory. His true
self he was saving--himself and all mankind--the only self he valued.
IX
Now it is this strange complexity of our being, compelling us to view
ourselves in both a separate and a conjunct way, which creates all the
difficulty in the problem of self-sacrifice. But I dare say that when
I have thus shown the reality and worth of the conjunct self, it will
be felt that self-sacrifice is altogether illusory; for while it seems
to produce loss, it is in fact the avoidance of what entails
littleness. So says Emerson:--
"Let love repine and reason chafe,
There came a voice without reply:
'T is man's perdition to be safe
When for the truth he ought to die."
Have we not, then, by explaining the rationality of self-sacrifice,
explained away the whole matter and practically identified it with
self-culture? There is plausibility in this view--and it has often
been maintained--but not complete truth. For evidently the emotions
excited by culture and sacrifice are directly antagonistic. Toward a
man pursuing the aim of culture we experience a feeling of approval,
not unmixed with suspicion, but we give him none of that reverent
adoration which is the proper response to sacrifice.
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