Do you remember of what use our
cathedral was to be in the world? It wasn't merely to be a monument to
our own glory--it was to be a sheltering place for others, an example
to them, an inspiration. You said once, very rightly, that if every
here and there a human being made a cathedral out of his life, other
people would soon get ashamed of their mud-huts, and pull them down.
They would try to build cathedrals on a bigger and nobler scale than
the first one, and probably would succeed. Thus the work would go on
from one generation to another. It was an idea worthy to form the
foundations of a man's ambition. I made it mine, as I knew you had
made it yours. It strengthened me to think that every decent action
was a fresh stone to the building which in the end would stand
perfect--not to my glory, but to the glory of the whole human race."
He smiled, though his eyes remained serious. "As an Englishman, I can
not help wishing that cathedrals should be most plentiful on English
soil."
"Do you really think that one small human life can make so much
difference?" she asked, rather bitterly. "I used to think so, in my
self-important days, but I am beginning to believe that our little
individual efforts are hopelessly lost in a sea of rubbish."
"Our youthful conceit is more justifiable than such self-disparagement,"
he answered. "I often think that humility--at any rate a certain kind--is
a questionable virtue.
Pages:
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258