,illustration3 ,,king ,,arthur ,from a drawing by ,l4 ,a4 ,hume-,williams4 99,,knights ,,in ,,armour99 ,by ,,edward ,s4 ,,woods1 ,m4,a ,chaplain of the ,royal ,military ,college1 ,sandhurst ,author of ,modern ,discipleship and ,what ,it ,means1 etc4 ,foreword by ,,general ,,sir ,,william ,,robertson1 ,k4,c4,b41 ,k4,c4,v4,o41 ,d4,s4,o41 ,chief of the ,imperial ,general ,staff ,,london3 ,,robert ,,scott ,,roxburghe ,,house ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,e4,c4 ,,mcmxvi ,all rights reserved ,to ,many ,officers and ,gentlemen ,cadets of the ,royal ,military ,college1 ,sandhurst1 who by unvarying friendliness end goodwill made easier their ,padre's task this little book is affectionately dedicated 99,,foreword99 ,a feature of peace manoeuvres used to be the sham fight4 ,in war there are no sham fights4 ,one has to deal then with stern realities1 and to carry burdens which seem to be quite beyond one's powers to sustain4 ,especially is this the case with those in the position of leaders4 ,in war1 more perhaps than in any other business1 men feel the need of something more than the mere knowledge of their profession1 no matter how complete that knowledge may be4 ,i therefore commend this little book to all soldiers1 and more particularly to the younger ones1 who desire to go into battle properly prepared1 for ,i am satisfied that definite and practical religious convictions form an essential part of every soldier's equipment4 ,w4 ,r4 ,,robertson4 ,august #ad1 #aiaf4 99,,contents99 ,i ,,introductory ,,ii ,,courage ,,iii ,,chivalry ,,iv ,,purity ,v ,,loyalty 99,,introductory99 ,be strong in the ,lord4444 ,put on the whole armour of ,god4--,,ephesians vi4 #aj1 #aa4 ,more than conquerors through ,him that loved us4--,,romans viii4 #cg4 99,,knights ,,in ,,armour99 99,i99 99,,introductory99 ,to every ,englishman there is something that stirs the blood and fires the imagination in the ancient legends of ,king ,arthur and his ,knights of the ,round ,table1 the legends that ,tennyson has immortalized in his ,idylls of the ,king4 ,it was a splendid vision that gripped the men who bound themselves-- ,to reverence the ,king1 as if ,he were ,their conscience1 and their conscience as their ,king1 ,to break the heathen and uphold the ,christ1 ,to ride abroad redressing human wrongs1 ,to speak no slander1 no nor listen to it1 ,to honour his own word as if his ,god's1 ,to lead sweet lives in purest chastity1 ,to love one maiden only1 cleave to her1 ,and worship her by years of noble deeds1 ,until they won her4 ,who1 if not soldiers1 should be the inheritors and transmitters of these noble traditions8 ,the highest meaning of a soldier's vocation has many points of contact with this ,knightly ideal2 and some of the greatest soldiers of our history have been men who were also ,knights of the ,cross4 ,knights are held to higher ideals and charged with harder tasks than lesser men4 ,and for you who serve our ,english ,king and are not unmindful of your allegiance to the ,king of ,kings1 ,i would fain try and draw a picture of what ,christian ,knighthood may mean4 ,i think ,i see1 at the least1 four qualities1 or virtues1 which must needs distinguish a ,christian ,knight4 ,these qualities are ,courage1 ,chivalry1 ,purity1 ,loyalty4 99,,courage99 ,he who would valiant be ',gainst all disaster1 ,let him in constancy ,follow the ,master4 ,there's no discouragement ,shall make him once relent ,his first avowed intent ,to be a pilgrim4 ,who so beset him round ,with dismal stories1 ,do but themselves confound-- ,his strength the more is4 ,no foes shall stay his might1 ,though he with giants fight3 ,he will make good his right ,to be a pilgrim4 ,since1 ,lord1 ,thou dost defend ,us with ,thy ,spirit1 ,we know we at the end ,shall life inherit4 ,then fancies flee away6 ,i'll fear not what men say1 ,i'll labour night and day ,to be a pilgrim4 ,,john ,,bunyan4 99,,ii99 99,,courage99 ,a wounded ,highlander was describing one day to his ward ,sister1 in a burst of confidence1 the circumstances in which he was hit4 ,we were advancing a wee bit through a cornfield and the corn was bonny1 thick and tall4 ,then they turned their machine-guns on us1 and ,i saw the corn cut and flicker1 and the men fall and fall6 ,god forgive me6 ,i couldn't face it6 444 ,i turned aside1 mem1 and ,i hid on my face in the uncut corn4 ,there was a pause4 ,he moistened his lips with his tongue and went on3 ,well1 ,i lay there and lay ,i there1 and ,i could hear the bullets going swish1 swish through the corn4 ,then something said to me ',jock6 will ye lie here to be shot like a rabbit in the harvest8 ,get up1 and take your dose like a man6' ,so ,i got up1 mem1 and ,i got it right enough6#a #a ,time and ,talents1 ,july1 #aiaf1 p4 #ha4 ,the brave man--and that ,scotchman was brave indeed--is not necessarily a man who doesn't feel fear2 he is one who doesn't yield to it4 ,even that hero ,general ,gordon used to say he felt afraid when in action4 ,most of us would like to run away2 but most manage1 somehow1 to stick it out4 ,there are other situations where it is just as important1 and almost as difficult1 to stick it out as in a shell-plagued trench4 ,there is another ,war on hand1 and the man who takes his place on this front will need all the pluck that he can muster4 ,it is useless to disguise the fact that to be a ,christian means you are in for a fight--and a stiff one at that4 ,some people seem to think of the ,christian religion as if it were a kind of ,sunday ,club1 or a rest cure1 or a mutual benefit society4 ,but ,christianity is not a passive thing at all4 ,if you are going to be a ,christian you have got to take sides in the eternal war of ,right against ,wrong2 and a man cannot take sides without taking hard knocks too4 ,we sometimes speak of ,war as if it were a kind of great game4 ,here is the greatest ,game of all4 ,and1 as a ,christian1 you are not spectator1 linesman or referee3 you are one of the team2 and it's up to you to strip and get going and play the game for all you are worth4 ,and what of the fight8 ,who is the enemy1 and how are we to fight him8 ,you won't need field glasses to see his front line4 ,a soldier's first and last battle is with himself4 ,the enemy outside owes much of his strength and success to his traitorous ally within the gates4 ,many a man's worst foe is in his own heart and life4 ,there are things that start from within1 habits of thought or word or deed1 which definitely militate against a man being a true ,knight and a ,christian gentleman4 ,there can be no truce with these things4 ,the ,christian ,knight has got to stand up against them4 ,and if he feels--and who does not8--that he is woefully lacking in the needed strength and courage1 then let him turn once more to the living ,son of ,god1 ,who alone can make weak men strong1 and ,who loves to do it4 ,but the man who wants to fight the good fight with all his might is called to tilt against the evil without as well as the evil within4 ,it is a caricature of ,christianity which makes it out to be simply a provision for each man to save his own skin and qualify for heaven4 ,christ did indeed come to save men2 but ,he did it1 not to ensure their personal safety and exempt them from fighting1 but to enlist them for ever on the side of ,god and ,righteousness4 ,the dimensions and issues of this ,war are such as to demand the utmost from every ,christian soldier4 ,on all sides of us ,evil is everywhere entrenched1 and in positions that often seem impregnable2 his worldwide forces are knit in close alliance1 and fight with the veteran skill of age-long experience4 ,here in the ,england that we love1 in any town1 or village1 in any school or regiment1 on any day1 the ,enemy is visibly1 incessantly striving to work grievous hurt on our manhood and womanhood4 ,who1 if not ,knights of the ,cross1 shall withstand him and fight him to the death8 ,william ,blake's well-known lines might well serve as a motto for the ,christian soldier3 ,i will not cease from mental fight1 ,nor shall my sword sleep in my hand1 ,till we have built ,jerusalem ,in ,england's green and pleasant land4 ,there is1 in this campaign1 no question of travelling to some distant theatre of operations1 nor of waiting for a selected moment4 ,you begin at once1 and just where you are4 ,perhaps that is why the fighting needs some stiff courage4 ,to ride abroad redressing human wrongs would have all the glamour of a great adventure4 ,but to strike a blow for ,truth and ,right1 and keep lifted high the ,colours of the ,king of ,kings1 in your own immediate circle1 where you know the others and the others know you--that needs real grit4 ,all the more because if you do that you may easily find yourself alone4 ,most people make no attempt to swim against the stream1 they float down with it4 ,the line of least resistance1 and the path of popularity1 are barred to the ,christian ,knight4 ,as ,christian said to ,by-ends in the ,pilgrim's ,progress3 ,if you will go with us1 you must go against ,wind and ,tide3 you must also own ,religion in his rags1 as well as when in his silver slippers2 and stand by him too when bound in irons1 as well as when he walketh the streets with applause4 ,the ,son of ,god goes forth to war1 ,a ,kingly crown to gain2 ,his blood-red banner streams afar6 ,who follows in ,his train8 ,again and again1 in ,flanders1 in ,gallipoli1 and on every front1 courage has shown itself to be a contagious thing4 ,fired by an undaunted leader1 cheered by stout hearts at his side1 many a man has proved himself braver than he ever thought to be4 ,in one of his campaigns the ,duke of ,wellington happened1 on one occasion1 to be absent from the army and rode up just as it was retreating4 ,a soldier saw him and shouted out1 ,yonder is ,lord ,wellington4 ,god bless him4 ,the shout was taken up by the whole force2 the retreating army was inspired to a fresh effort1 turned and drove the enemy headlong4 ,jesus ,christ has a like effect on those who get near enough to ,him to feel the magic of ,his influence4 ,it just makes you a man to be in ,his company4 ,i have a ,captain1 ,and the heart of every valiant man ,has drunk in valour from ,his eyes ,since first the ,war began4 ,he is most merciful in fight4 ,and of ,his scars a single sight ,the embers of our failing might ,into a flame can fan4 99,,chivalry99 ,he saved others3 ,himself ,he cannot save4--,,st4 ,,matthew xxvii4 #db4 ,ye ought to remember the words of the ,lord ,jesus1 how ,he ,himself said1 ,it is more blessed to give than to receive4--,,acts xx4 #ce4 ,follow the ,christ1 the ,king1 ,live pure1 speak true1 right wrong1 follow the king-- ,else1 wherefore born8--,,tennyson4 99,,iii99 99,,chivalry99 ,in the ,middle ,ages the lesser nobles used to follow their chiefs on horseback2 they were called ,knights 7the word originally meant servants1 in ,german ,knechte7 and the system of knightly rules and customs was called chivalry 7,french chevalerie74 ,the order of knighthood was only bestowed after many years of training and discipline4 ,in later times the movement lost its early meaning and usefulness2 but for many centuries the traditions and ideals of knighthood did much to keep alive the ,christian standard of a pure and courageous manhood4 ,on one of the last days of ,his earthly life ,jesus ,christ did a thing that astounded the men who saw it4 ,at the close of a supper with the inner circle of ,his followers1 ,he took water and a towel and went round the little company washing each man's feet in turn4 ,and then ,he explained to them ,his acted parable4 ,he told them that they1 like ,himself1 were put in the world to serve3 not to be ministered unto but to minister4 ,they learnt their lesson2 and for the rest of their lives every man1 save one1 spent himself ungrudgingly in serving others4 ,the word knight1 as we saw1 means servant2 and it is not for nothing that the ,army and ,navy are called ,the ,services4 ,taught by stern discipline1 the soldier and the sailor know that self counts nothing1 and others everything4 ,that is perhaps the biggest truth in life4 ,many people had forgotten it before the ,war2 but we have learnt it now4 ,that great host who have laid down their lives for their friends1 and those countless others who have learnt to hold the nation dearer than safety and comfort1 than pleasure and money--all these have shown it to be startlingly true that a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things that he possesseth2 and that it is verily more blessed to give than to receive4 ,chivalry is re-born2 ,honour has come to its own again4 ,as that young poet sang so truly and beautifully1 shortly before he gave his own life3#a #a ,rupert ,brooke died in the ,aegean1 ,april1 #aiae1 aged #bh4 ,from #aiad and ,other ,poems4 ,blow out1 you bugles1 over the rich ,dead6 ,there's none of these so lonely and poor of old1 ,but1 dying1 has made us rarer gifts than gold4 ,these laid the world away2 poured out the red ,sweet wine of youth2 gave up the years to be ,of work and joy1 and that unhoped serene1 ,that men call age2 and those who would have been1 ,their sons1 they gave1 their immortality4 ,blow1 bugles1 blow6 ,they brought us1 for our dearth1 ,holiness1 lacked so long1 and ,love1 and ,pain4 ,honour has come back1 as a king1 to earth1 ,and paid his subjects with a royal wage2 ,and ,nobleness walks in our ways again2 ,and we have come into our heritage4 ,true knights are called to chivalrous service1 not in war-time only1 or just for a temporary ,cause1 but always1 and everywhere1 on behalf of all4 ,if ,christians generally lived up to this ,christian ideal1 and cared little for getting1 but everything for giving1 the world would rapidly become a very different place4 ,selfishness is the cause of nearly all our ills2 and chivalry is just the opposite of selfishness4 ,there is no chivalry in the man who is wrapped up in his own affairs1 and who turns a cold eye on all except his own particular friends4 ,it is chivalry that makes you interested in that other fellow who happens to be less fortunately situated than yourself1 and sets you wondering how you would like it if you were in his shoes1 until at last you feel you must somehow find some way of being a friend to him and giving him a helping hand4 ,and it is chivalry that is always on the watch to protect the defenceless4 ,in every group of people1 in all sections of society1 there are always some individuals who seem curiously unable to fend for themselves and invariably get pushed to the wall4 ,do you do your share in the general pushing8 ,or do you1 with ,christian chivalry1 try and stand up for those who cannot or do not stand up for themselves8 ,the chivalrous man1 moreover1 is never unfair nor unmerciful4 ,war-time makes a big demand on the qualities of fairness and mercy4 ,thank ,god our ,nation has1 on the whole1 and despite terrible provocation1 shown itself to be a chivalrous foe to the enemy4 ,if you are going to be chivalrous1 there is no room for vengeance or retaliation4 ,soldiers and sailors know this by instinct1 and act accordingly4 ,i always notice that it is newspaper people1 and people who sit snug in their arm-chairs at home1 who talk so loud about reprisals and retaliation4 ,in the trenches it's quite different4 ,when ,thomas ,atkins takes a prisoner he generally offers him a cigarette4 ,as an ,officer said the other day1 ,tommy's only idea1 when he catches these fellows1 is to feed them4 ,at least that is his usual practice1 whatever his theories are about what he will do to the blanked ,hun when he catches him4 ,a recent number of ,punch99#b had a lovely description of ,thomas ,atkins' vengeance4 ,a ,cavalry outpost in ,egypt1 sweltering in the heat1 devoured by mosquitoes1 in a temper reflecting the choice surroundings1 decides that the only thing to do with wandering parties of the treacherous ,arabs is to shoot them at sight4 ,sudden report from the sentry3 ,corporal1 ,i can see 'alf-a-dozen of them blighters coming along about a mile away4 ,shall ,i give 'em one8 ,no1 you idiot1 says the ,corporal1 ,let's 'ave a look at 'em first4 ,there arrives on the scene a middle-aged ,arab1 dressed in indescribable rags1 and in the last stage of exhaustion1 and decidedly populous as to his person2 various members of his family are hovering about a short distance away4 ,he falls flat on his face at the sight of the ,corporal1 crying1 ,bimbashi1 bimbashi1 mongeries1 mongeries4 ,yes1 ,i'll bash yer all right1 says the ,corporal1 ,grey-'eaded old reprobate1 you ought to know better4 ,lor'1 comments one of the ,troopers1 'e do look thin1 pore beggar1 99,mongeries--that means food1 don't it8 ',e looks as if 'e hadn't eaten nothing for weeks4 ',ere1 'ave a biscuit1 old ,sport4 ,try 'im with some bully1 suggests another ,trooper2 they say they won't eat that1 though4 ,won't 'e6 says the first1 ,i never seen the stuff go so quick4 ',ere1 old fellow1 don't eat the tin4 ,don't give him any more1 says the ,corporal1 or 'e'll kill 'isself4 ,let's see if his family can do the disappearing trick as quick as he can4 ,poor devils they've been through something4 ',ere1 you family1 mongeries4 ,the family are brought up and fed on the day's rations4 ,take 'em back to camp now1 orders the ,corporal1 and 'and 'em over4 ,come on1 old boy2 you're all right4 ,lor'1 ain't they pretty near done4 ,lucky they found us when they did4 ,such is the way of ,thomas 444 and it is the way of chivalry2 and that is the way of ,christ4 ,if thine enemy hunger1 feed him2 if he thirsts1 give him drink4 ,another mark of the chivalrous man is the stainless honour of all his relations with women4 ,in the days of our fathers and grandfathers it was thought very important that the relations between men and women should always be what was called proper1 with the result that they often became self-conscious1 stilted1 affected1 and even stupid4 ,in our day there is a strong reaction against those ,victorian ideas and manners4 ,this reaction is very natural1 and much of it is sane and sound4 ,the relation between the sexes to-day is often that of a healthy1 happy1 easy comradeship1 born of sport or some other rational joint interest1 a thing of the open air1 metaphorically as well as literally4 ,and there are many men who have cause to bless a blameless friendship with a good woman4 ,but if some profit by this new liberty1 others1 it must be confessed1 have shown themselves less worthy of it4 ,it is all too easy for the man of to-day to fall below the standard which is planted in the conscience and instinct of every true gentleman4 ,there is much--too much--in modern life to make men think that women are in the world just to minister to their amusement and gratification1 and to make women acquiesce in that idea4 ,there are those who deliberately give effect to that degraded conception4 ,there are others who1 without descending to vice1 have half-unconsciously allowed their thought of the man and woman relationship to be lowered and coarsened4 ,influenced by the presentment of life which they see at most theatres and cinemas1 and in a certain type of novel1 they learn to think of love as something easy1 exciting1 pleasurable1 irresponsible1 unfettered by ordinary restraints1 something to be gazed at1 feasted on1 dissected1 toyed with2 and so perhaps they come to play with love in their own experience1 and thus both work grievous hurt on other lives1 and1 for themselves1 fritter away in little bits1 cheaply and unthinkingly1 that which is the very highest thing in all the capacity and heritage of their manhood4 ,far otherwise is it with the man who is mindful of the dictates of true chivalry4 ,his whole thought of womanhood is on a different level1 breathes another atmosphere4 ,for him1 ,love is a high and holy thing1 to be revered1 not played with4 ,for him1 all that womanhood is and may be1 the tender grace and charm1 the beauty of form and face1 the appeal of her dependence1 the subtle surprises of her companionship1 the ministries of her sympathy1 the wonder of her friendship1 the selfless glory of her love--all this he sees to be ,god's sheer gift for the blessing of humanity4 ,something of this vision1 this instinct1 will be at the back of his mind in all his contact with the women he knows and sees4 ,and1 therefore1 his one guiding principle as he meets and mixes with them will be--reverence4 ,a deep reverence for womanhood is the hall-mark of true chivalry4 #b ,may #aj1 #aiaf4 ,does this seem an impossibly high standard for a man who has to live his life in modern society8 ,perhaps it would be out of reach of us ordinary men1 if it were not for a new and mighty spiritual stimulus which1 if we will1 we may make our own4 ,the secret of chivalry1 like the secret of courage1 may be learned in the companionship of the one perfect chivalrous ,gentleman that the world has seen--,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,he1 born of a human mother1 acquainted with family love4 ,friend of gentle women1 for ever blessed and sanctified the friendship and love of men and women4 ,from the ,manger to the ,cross ,he lived out and taught the first law of all chivalry1 the great guiding principle of all human relationships1 the highest glory both of manhood and womanhood1 that it is ever more blessed to give than to receive4 ,as ,charles ,kingsley1 himself a most chivalrous gentleman1 sung of his ,master in lines noble and true3 ,he taught mankind on that first ,christmas ,day ,what 'twas to be a man2 to give1 not take2 ,to serve1 not rule2 to nourish1 not devour2 ,to help1 not crush2 if need to die1 not live4 ,illustration3 ,,sir ,,galahad ,photo ,f4 ,hollyer ,g4 ,f4 ,watts1 ,r4,a4 by permission of ,mrs4 ,watts 99,,purity99 ,and ,i saw 444 and behold a white horse2 and ,he that sat upon him was called ,faithful and ,true444 ,and ,his armies followed ,him upon white horses1 clothed in fine linen1 white and clean4--,,rev4 xix4 #aa1 #ad4 ,know ye not that your body is the temple of the ,holy ,ghost8--#a ,,cor4 vi4 #ai4 ,god who created me ,nimble and light of limb1 ,in three elements free1 ,to run1 to ride1 to swim3 ,not when the sense is dim1 ,but now from the heart of joy1 ,i would remember ,him3 ,take the thanks of a boy4 ,jesu1 ,king and ,lord1 ,whose are my foes to fight4 ,gird me with ,thy sword1 ,swift and sharp and bright4 ,thee would ,i serve if ,i might2 ,and conquer if ,i can4 ,from day-dawn till night1 ,take the strength of a man4 ,spirit of ,love and ,truth1 ,breathing in grosser clay1 ,the light and flame of youth4 ,delight of men in the fray4 ,wisdom in strength's decay2 ,from pain1 strife1 wrong to be free4 ,this best gift ,i pray1 ,take my spirit to ,thee4--,,henry ,,charles ,,beeching 99,,iv99 99,,purity99 ,one of the old legends of ,king ,arthur and his ,knights concerns that which men called the ,holy ,grail4 ,the story ran that the ,holy ,grail1 which was the cup used at ,christ's last supper with ,his disciples1 was treasured carefully by ,joseph of ,arimathaea and brought by him1 ultimately1 to ,glastonbury4 ,and there awhile it abode2 and if a man ,could touch or see it1 he was healed at once1 ,by faith1 of all his ills4 ,but then the times ,grew to such evil that the holy cup ,was caught away to heaven and disappeared4 ,later1 in the days of ,king ,arthur1 the vision of the cup returned again4 ,it was a memorable day4 ,the seat at the ,round ,table1 the ,siege ,perilous1 left ever empty for the coming of one who should1 be worthy to sit therein1 was filled at last by the young and fair and pure ,sir ,galahad1 brought thither by the ancient clothed in white4 ,he was clad in white armour1 with no sword or shield save only an empty scabbard hanging by his side4 ,thereupon the second marvel of that day took place4 ,the fair sword1 stuck fast in the great stone of red marble1 which no other ,knight had been able to move1 was lightly and easily drawn by ,sir ,galahad1 who said as he took it1 ,for the surety of this sword ,i brought none with me2 for here by my side hangeth the scabbard4 ,that same evening1 after even-song in the great minster at ,camelot1 they were all at supper in ,arthur's ,hall4 ,and all at once1 runs the old legend1 retold in ,tennyson's verse1 ,and all at once1 as there we sat1 we heard ,a cracking and a riving of the roofs1 ,and rending1 and a blast1 and overhead ,thunder1 and in the thunder was a cry4 ,and in the blast there smote along the hall ,a beam of light seven times more clear than day4 ,and down the long beam stole the ,holy ,grail ,all over cover'd with a luminous cloud1 ,and none might see who bare it1 and it past4 ,but every ,knight beheld his fellow's face ,as in a glory1 and all the ,knights arose4444 ,all saw the light1 and heard the sounds1 but ,sir ,galahad alone had sight of the ,grail itself4 ,whereupon all the rest took solemn vows to ride a twelvemonth and a day in quest of it4 ,and the legend goes on to tell how they fared and what adventures they had in their quest4 ,it is a beautiful and significant story4 ,g4,f4 ,watts1 the artist1 caught the spirit of it in his well-known picture of ,sir ,galahad standing by his white horse1 with purity of vision and strength of high resolve written on every line of his uplifted face4 ,both legend and picture seem to catch and illumine an idea that was fundamental in the whole conception of ,knighthood1 the idea that the true ,knight must be pure in heart4 ,sir ,galahad stands forth as the type and embodiment of strong and pure manhood4 ,sermons on sin and exhortations to holiness may leave us cold1 but this ,knightly ideal carries an appeal that is permanent and powerful2 it cannot fail to find some response in the heart of anyone who is a real man4 ,for the point is that ,sir ,galahad1 with all his purity1 was no milksop1 no untempted saint2 he was uncommonly strong in the right arm1 as other men found to their cost4 ,but there was1 and is always1 a deep-down connexion between what a man is and what he does4 ,a man's whole life is the product and expression of the real quality of the hidden self4 ,the nature of the tree determines the fruit4 ,the question of purity has its roots in these secret places of a man's being that lie hid from any human eye4 ,there is nothing1 insisted ,christ1 from without a man that entering into him can defile him1 but the things which come out of him1 from within1 out of the heart 444 those are they that defile the man4#a #a ,st4 ,mark vii4 #ae1 #ba4 ,psychologists tell us that below the level of our conscious thought there are large subterranean places where the things we hear and read and think about are being stored up4 ,the things that come up to the surface1 whether we produce them voluntarily--'remember' them1 or whether they come up unbidden when our upper minds are empty and receptive1 naturally are of the stock that is stored below4 ,what sort of stock are you accumulating in your mental underground8 ,what sort of pictures hang in the most private galleries of your mind8 ,what kind of thoughts come floating up from those mysterious depths1 and what are the thoughts that you most enjoy thinking8 ,there is many a man who is often visited by thoughts that he would rather be without2 they seem to catch on to some part of him that has a sneaking liking for them1 and he cannot dislodge these unwelcome guests4 ,he is almost conscious of a sort of dual personality3 part of him wants what is clean and good1 but the rest of him seems a very odd mixture which he is powerless to regulate or alter4 ,he feels that he would make a better affair of life if only all the parts of him would push together in the right direction4 ,is there any way of achieving such a state of affairs8 ,i know of no other certain way but one4 ,there is only one power ,i ever heard of that could plumb the depths of a human soul and transform the quality of all the stuff that lies down there1 and clean out all the refuse1 and stiffen the dethroned will and put it back in its place of power--and that is the ,spirit of ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is said of the great ,john ,nicholson1 that wonderful leader of men1 that1 however desperate the circumstances1 his presence could put new heart into a whole camp4 ,it is just that1 with yet deeper result1 that ,christ does for those who trust ,him4 ,he told ,his followers that if they would open their hearts to receive ,him1 ,he would give them ,his ,spirit2 by which ,he meant that1 inspired by ,his influence1 they would actually become like ,him1 and think ,his thoughts1 and will ,his will1 and live the kind of life ,he lived4 ,what ,he said would happen does happen2 and not just ,saints but ordinary people find that ,he can make them true and pure in a way that nothing else can4 ,spirit of purity and grace4 ,our weakness pitying see2 ,oh make our hearts ,thy dwelling place ,and worthier ,thee4 ,those words contain not a beautiful aspiration but a literal possibility4 ,once a man begins to make this great discovery1 all sorts of results ensue4 ,lost things are found again1 among them that happy1 guileless certainty of ,god which is childhood's heritage and which so often slips away when men grow older4 ,life gets crowded and men lose sight of ,god2 some men even think ,he is not there because they have lost the knack of looking for ,him4 ,if you cannot see properly through a telescope it is rash to conclude that the object you are looking for is not there2 it would be better to clean the lens4 ,it is not ,god who deserts us2 it is we who1 blinded by sin1 miss ,him4 ,blessed are the pure in heart1 for they shall see ,god4 ,here again it is not the ,saints only who are gifted with this capacity for spiritual vision4 ,it is the birthright of every man and woman born into the world4 ,the path of purity is a right of way1 and the place of vision has no fences round it2 all who will may enter there1 and there is none to forbid them but themselves4 ,i believe there are numbers of men who have a dim consciousness of these great possibilities but who1 from one cause or another1 have never really begun to explore them4 ,the one thing needful1 for many a man1 is simply that he should give his soul a chance4 ,early in the ,war there was killed in ,france at the age of twenty1 a man of brilliant endowments and high promise--,charles ,sorley1 of ,marlborough and ,university ,college1 ,oxford4 ,a few months before his death he wrote these lines1 which put into winged words this haunting sense of unexplored spiritual possibilities1-- ,from morn to midnight1 all day through1 ,i laugh and play as others do1 ,i sin and chatter just the same ,as others with a different name4 ,and all year long upon the stage ,i dance and tumble and do rage ,so vehemently1 ,i scarcely see ,the inner and eternal me4 ,i have a temple ,i do not ,visit1 a heart ,i have forgot1 ,a self that ,i have never met1 ,a secret shrine--and yet1 and yet ,this sanctuary of my soul ,unwitting ,i keep white and whole1 ,unlatched and lit1 if ,thou should'st care ,to enter or to tarry there4 ,with parted lips and outstretched hands ,and listening ears ,thy servant stands2 ,call ,thou early1 call ,thou late1 ,to ,thy great service dedicate4 ,the ,war is creating a hunger for reality1 and above all for spiritual reality4 ,break me1 ,o ,god1 destroy me if you will1 but save me from self-complacency and little interests and little successes and the life that passes as the shadows of a dream4 ,if purity is the condition of vision1 it is also the secret of strength4 ,my strength is as the strength of ten ,because my heart is pure4 ,sir ,galahad had made the discovery which true men always make4 ,sin is a source of weakness4 ,purity is a fount of strength4 ,unclean men are never conquerors--they have lost the first and most important of battles1 that with themselves4 ,it was not for nothing that ,lord ,kitchener emphasized the supreme importance of self control in his famous letter to the troops at the beginning of the ,war4 ,success in ,war1 says the ,field ,service ,regulations1 depends more on the moral than on the physical qualities4 ,foremost among moral forces is that wonderful thing1 all powerful though difficult to define1 which men call discipline4 ,of the many qualities which make up discipline1 there is one of unrivalled importance1 which it partly evokes and partly creates1 and that is self-control4 ,it is of the essence of discipline that a man should learn entirely to subordinate his own wish or pleasure or safety to a larger common purpose4 ,standing in the ranks he must control the desire to move his head or fidget with his hands4 ,in the face of the enemy he must control his desire to run away4 ,at all times and in all places he must control his desire to consult his own comfort or convenience4 ,such self-control involves a considerable measure of moral strength4 ,will a man be strong here1 where strength is so needed1 if all the while he is gravely weak in the region of his inner life8 ,is it likely that he will be able to inspire others with cheerful fortitude in face of hardships and death if the very source is fouled whence his own strength must be drawn8 ,with all possible emphasis ,i would press this point upon you1 that there is a vital connexion between purity and moral strength4 ,and ,i urge it1 not simply for your own sakes1 but even more because of what you may be and do for others4 ,for their sakes ,i consecrate myself4 ,the motive of that one perfect life is the only adequate motive for us who try to be ,his followers4 ,how can ,i serve others1 if my own soul is shackled in iron bonds8 ,how can ,i fight for righteousness1 in this ,war or in the ,greater ,war1 if in my own heart and life ,i have secret dealings with the enemy8 ,the ,knights of ,christ are men who have no use for dirt of any kind4 ,and ,i beheld a white horse1 and ,he that sat upon him was called ,faithful and ,true1 and in righteousness ,he doth judge and make ,war 444 and the armies which were in heaven followed ,him upon white horses1 clothed in fine linen1 white and clean4#b ,there is nothing so unclean but that ,christ can cleanse it2 and to all who would be ,his ,warriors ,he can1 and ,he does1 give the white armour which they must have4 ,here is the greatest soldiering of all4 ,it is worth the struggle to be a better man1 it is worth the effort of faith which will let ,him re-make your life1 if thereby you may be fit to take your place in ,his ,army and go after ,him as ,he rides forth to conquer in the ,holy ,war4 #b ,revelation xix4 #aa1 #ad4 99,,loyalty99 ,not every one that saith unto ,me1 ,lord1 ,lord1 shall enter into the ,kingdom of heaven2 but he that doeth the will of ,my ,father which is in heaven4--,,st4 ,,matthew vii4 #ba4 ,be ,thou the ,king1 and we will work ,thy will ,who ,love ,thee4--,,tennyson4 ,jesus shall reign where'er the sun ,does his successive journeys run2 ,his ,kingdom stretch from shore to shore1 ,till moons shall wax and wane no more4--,,isaac ,,watts4 99,v99 99,,loyalty99 ,the ,coronation ,service of ,his ,majesty ,king ,george ,v4 is still a comparatively recent event4 ,the whole ceremony is1 as many will remember1 full of beautiful symbolism4 ,one of the most moving and dramatic moments is that when1 after the ,king has been crowned1 his chief subjects come forward to kneel down and do him homage4 ,one after another the ,archbishops1 the ,princes of the ,blood ,royal and the ,peers of the ,realm1 kneel down1 putting off their coronets1 and pronounce the words of homage3 ,i do become your liege man of life and limb1 and of earthly worship2 and faith and truth ,i will bear unto you1 to live and die1 against all manner of folks4 ,so help me ,god4 ,and then1 proceeds the rubric1 the ,peers having done their ,homage1 the first of each ,order1 putting off his coronet1 shall singly ascend the throne1 and stretching forth his hand1 touch the ,crown on ,his ,majesty's head1 as promising by that ceremony for himself and his ,order to be ever ready to support it with all their power2 and then shall he kiss the ,king's cheek4 ,this sense of owing loyal service to a ,king is an immemorial instinct in men4 ,and it is a deep-rooted tradition that those who are his ,knights are bound to him in the closest ties of honourable obligation4 ,in the earliest centuries of our national history the ,king used to have his war band1 bound personally to him by their free choice1 and sworn to fight for him to the death4 ,he was their lord1 they his thegns4 ,most of us call ourselves ,christians4 ,have you realized that to be a ,christian1 in the true sense of the word1 means nothing less than that you are ,christ's liege man of life and limb1 and that you are utterly committed faith and truth to bear unto ,him1 to live and die1 against all manner of folks8 ,this personal devotion to the living ,christ is the most central thing in ,christianity4 ,if a man is going to be a real ,christian it will mean more than just assenting to the ,creed1 and going to ,church1 and feeling religious at favourable moments4 ,it will mean entering into a personal relationship with ,jesus ,christ and letting ,him be in command1 not on specified occasions1 but every day and all the time4 ,the difficulty with many people is that ,christianity only touches the circumference of their existence and never seems to get established right at the centre of heart and life4 ,it simply makes the whole difference when once you discover that ,jesus ,christ is a real ,person ,who1 on ,his side1 is interested in you and loves to help you and go about with you1 and ,whom you1 on your side1 can talk to and lean on and1 gradually1 begin to love4 ,it is always in this personal way that ,god in ,christ offers ,himself to men4 ,he is the ,redeemer ,who will release you from the iron bonds of sin1 the ,friend ,who will stand by your side1 the ,king ,who would have your loyal service4 ,and1 in order to break for good and all the power of sin and death1 and that ,he might found ,his ,kingdom on the free loyalty of love1 ,he died4444 ,it is a common thing for men to lay down their lives for king and country2 but here is a ,king dying for ,his subjects4 ,have you ever tried to realize what sin means8 ,it must mean at least this3 that when you and ,i do wrong we are doing something that hurts ,god1 something that inevitably puts a barrier between ,him and us4 ,and is it not premature to speak of love and loyalty to ,him as long as that barrier is there8 ,now1 however amazing it may seem1 there has proved to be no other way but one in which that barrier could be utterly and finally broken down--and ,god chose that way1 the way of the ,cross4 ,deliberately1 gladly1 the ,son of ,god died4 ,that which is a lasting puzzle to theologians and philosophers1 is just sheer good tidings1 and tidings found to be true1 to ordinary people who are hungry in soul4 ,i always think that at once the simplest and profoundest statement of the meaning of the death of ,christ is that contained in the old children's hymn3 ,he died that we might be forgiven1 ,he died to make us good2 ,that we might go at last to heaven1 ,saved by ,his precious blood4 ,can we withhold our loyalty from ,him ,who stands before us1 not only as a ,king demanding our rightful allegiance1 but as ,one ,who loves us so much that ,he died for us8 ,were the whole realm of ,nature mine1 ,that were an offering far too small2 ,love so amazing1 so ,divine ,demands my soul1 my life1 my all4 ,once you get fairly hold of this idea of ,christianity being largely a matter of personal loyalty to ,jesus ,christ1 then your religion will begin to become alive in all sorts of unsuspected ways4 ,prayer will cease to be a more or less formal duty which you hardly like to give up1 and will become instead a real intercourse with ,god which you find you cannot do without4 ,the ,bible1 too1 will no longer be1 what it too often is1 a mere adjunct of conventional religion1 but will become instead a living book1 a book which makes you see1 as nothing else can1 the mind and character and purposes of the ,king you are trying to serve4 ,public worship will be a pleasure instead of a bore1 because you have discovered its point and meaning4 ,and the ,holy ,communion1 instead of being either a religious extra beyond your reach or else an occasional effort out of touch with your ordinary life1 will take its place as an indispensable means of bringing new life to your soul1 as a wonderful pledge of ,his amazing love and of all that you long to give ,him in response4 ,now there are two things which this loyalty to the ,king of ,kings will necessarily involve4 ,to be loyal to ,him will mean being loyal to the ,christian ,brotherhood and loyal to the ,christian ,cause4 ,loyalty to a brotherhood is a thing that should come naturally to a soldier1 or indeed to anyone who has imbibed the highest traditions of our ,public ,schools and ,universities and ,services4 ,comradeship1 says a soldier who ought to know1 ,comradeship is the saving characteristic of the ,british ,army4 ,a man has learnt one of the greatest lessons of life when he realizes that the honour of the ,regiment is of far greater moment than his own personal success1 than his life even4 ,as a senior subaltern said to a junior brother officer1 when giving him some homely advice on the day that he passed his recruits' drills and was finally off the square3--,all that you've got to remember is that it's the ,regiment which counts2 and you've got to make yourself a credit to it4#a ,again and again in this war it has been shown what a wonderful force there is in this ,regimental esprit de corps4 ,there can be no doubt--to cite one instance only--that this spirit1 this tradition1 was a vital factor in the glorious achievements of the immortal #bith ,division at ,gallipoli4 #a ,the ,making of an ,officer4 ,the ,times1 ,june #h1 #aiaf4 ,it's the ,regiment which counts4 ,the ,christian ,church could do with more of this spirit of mutual loyalty4 ,we are members one of another1 urged ,st4 ,paul2 and yet how little there is of real brotherliness among us ,christians6 ,when we find a man is a fellow-,christian1 whatever his social position may be1 we ought to have that kind of feeling towards him that we should have if he had been at our school1 or belonged to our ,regiment4 ,there is no free-masonry like that which links together those who have a common love for ,jesus ,christ and a common interest in ,his purposes4 ,moreover1 this sense of being one of a great ,brotherhood is a spiritual safeguard and incentive4 ,when you and ,i fail1 it is not just our own ,christianity that suffers3 we are letting down the whole ,brotherhood1 we are lowering great and immemorial traditions1 we are proving unworthy of the unnumbered multitude of ,christian heroes who1 in every generation1 have fought the good light of faith4 ,therefore1 surrounded as we are by such a vast cloud of witnesses let us fling aside every encumbrance and the sin that so readily entangles our feet1 and let us run with patient endurance the race that lies before us1 fixing our gaze on ,jesus our ,prince ,leader in the ,faith4#b #b ,hebrews xii #a1 #b4 ,weymouth's ,version4 ,any genuine loyalty to our ,prince ,leader carries with it1 of necessity1 loyalty to ,his ,cause4 ,i have said something1 in a previous ,chapter1 about the call to ,christians to do some fighting in the real ,holy ,war4 ,i would urge1 once more1 that the true ,knight of ,christ cannot do less than place himself1 and all that he has1 at the disposal of his ,master's ,cause4 ,a ,christian1 says a recent writer1 is one who believes in and supports the claim of ,christ to universal ,sovereignty4 ,christ needs men who will spend themselves in ,his ,cause with the same splendid devotion that men show when they are fighting for their country4 ,in the recent advance1#c as the ,newfoundland ,regiment was pushing along through a storm of lead1 a corporal turned to the man by his side and said1 ,if ,i go down you take charge and go straight ahead4 ,a minute afterwards a bullet hit him in the chest and he dropped4 ,the man he had spoken to tried to lift him up1 but he was done for1 and his last words were ,push on with it4 #c ,july1 #aiaf4 ,those words might serve as a motto for all those who are beginning to see that the greatest ,enterprise of all1 and one most worth serving1 is that of extending the ,kingdom of ,god over the face of the whole earth4 ,the time is ripe indeed for a general ,christian offensive4 ,the war has laid bare1 as never before1 the moral need of the world1 and now is the opportunity to begin afresh the task of giving men ,christianity1 and to push on with it4 ,it is to a mighty ,adventure1 with big risks and great sacrifices1 that ,christ is calling us2 and that is the kind of call that a real man always loves to hear4 ,at the supreme crisis of his fortunes1 after the capitulation of ,rome1 ,garibaldi1 the ,saviour of ,italy1 called for volunteers to go after him4 ,i am going out from ,rome1 he cried2 ,i offer neither quarters1 nor provisions1 nor wages4 ,i offer hunger1 thirst1 forced marches1 battles1 death4 ,let him who loves his country with his heart1 not with his lips only1 follow me4 ,and men streamed out after him into the hills4 ,that is the spirit in which ,christ summons men to serve ,his ,cause4 ,if any man will come after ,me1 let him deny himself1 and take up his ,cross daily1 and follow ,me4 ,and the curious thing is that when men at last cut loose from a snug religion and fling themselves with a certain recklessness into the service of ,christ and ,his ,kingdom1 then they begin to taste the real joy of life4 ,as at a ,coronation1 as soon as the homage is accomplished1 the trumpets blow4 ,when a man1 at whatever cost1 does his bit in a mighty enterprise1 then he begins to enjoy the top of the fulness of life4 ,in one of the battles of history1 when in an advance a soldier was mortally wounded1 a comrade bent over him and cheered him with the tidings1 ,they have taken the position3 the flag is planted on it4 ,a film was on the eyes of the dying man1 and he could see nothing2 but with a smile on his face he murmured1 ,i helped to put it there4 ,will you and ,i be able to say that when the flag of the triumphant ,christ is unfurled in ,his final victory8 ,and the ,king sat ,crown'd on the dais1 and his warriors cried1 ',be ,thou the ,king1 and we will work ,thy will ,who love ,thee4' ,have you taken these vows8 ,christ the ,king would have your services and make you ,his ,knight4 ,he wants you1 for ,himself and for ,his ,cause4 ,to be wanted by ,jesus ,christ--who can hold back from a call such as that8 ,he hath sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat1 ,he is sifting out the hearts of men before ,his judgment-seat2 ,oh6 be swift1 my soul1 to answer ,him1 be jubilant1 my feet3 ,our ,god is marching on6 99,a ,,prayer ,,of ,s4 ,,richard ,,of ,,chichester #abdj ,a4,d499 ,thanks be to ,thee1 my ,lord ,jesus ,christ ,for all the benefits which ,thou hast given me1 ,for all the pains and insults1 which ,thou hast borne for me4 ,o most merciful ,redeemer1 ,friend and ,brother1 ,may ,i know ,thee more clearly1 ,love ,thee more dearly1 ,and follow ,thee more nearly4 ,amen4 ,printed for ,,robert ,,scott1 ,publisher1 ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,,london1 ,e4,c41 by ,,butler ,,tanner1 ,,frome4