But our practice hardly keeps pace with our prayer we are apt to put two or three legitimate desires before what should be our primary aspiration to have good-the cult of prosperity-is the prayer and effort of the natural man to be good-the cult of sanctity-is the desire of the spiritually-minded toĭo good-the cult of philanthropy-sums up the 'religion of humanity' these things we should have, be and do, but we are becoming aware that there is a further duty which we may not leave undone. It is not because I 'relish versing,' or with any hope to give pleasure to persons who care for poetry, that I am essaying to throw the life and teaching of our Lord into the form of verse but because, under that progressive teaching which we believe is vouchsafed to the Church, a new need appears to have arisen, in response to which many efforts worthier than mine are being made.ĭay by day we are taught to pray, by way of summing up all our requirements in this life, for 'knowledge of Thy truth'-the prayer in the Liturgy which seems to summarise most fully our Lord's teaching.

Having reached the middle of a great (and bold) undertaking, may I be allowed again to offer my apologia? The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved