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all else is nothing. I say that the more a man’s actions
approach this, the more profitable will they be to himself and
others, and that whoever approaches the ideal, however little,
will do good. There are two extremes; on the one hand to
give one’s life for our fellows; on the other, to live an entirely
unchanged life. Between these two extremes all men are to be
found; some who act as Christ’s disciples have left all to follow
Him; others are like the rich young ruler, who turned and
went away when he heard the Master speak of a changed life.
Between this we find the different Zaccheuses, who change, but
only partially. But to become like these last we must always
aim at approaching the first.
“All who understand that the way to aid the starving peasants
is by breaking down the barriers that separate us from them,
and on this account change their mode of life, necessarily rank
themselves somewhere between these limits according to their
physical and moral powers. Some, as soon as they come into
the country, will eat and sleep with the sufferers; others will
live apart, but establish eating rooms and work there; a third
set will help distribute the provisions and flour; a fourth will
give money; a fifth—I can imagine such persons—will live in a
famine-stricken village and do nothing but spend their income
and help the casual starvelings that come in their way.
“I do not know, and I do not wish to say, if the people, the
entire people, shall have enough to feed upon. I cannot know
this, for independently of the famine, an epidemic may break out
to-morrow, or an invasion cause the death of the people; or
tomorrow a nutritious substance may be invented capable of
feeding the whole world; or, simplest of all, I may die myself
to-morrow, without having found out if the people have had
enough food or not. The important thing is that I have not
been charged with the task of feeding forty millions of people
in a certain territory, and that I cannot attain this outward
object, viz., to feed and save from calamity a fixed number of
men, but that I ought to think of saving my soul, and bring my
life as near my conscience as possible. I cannot do more than
one thing: to use my powers as long as I live for the service
of my brothers, regarding all without exception as my brothers.
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