communion with God; living, it would seem, purely and entirely for himself, hoping for nothing but his own future reward, fearing nothing but his own future hurt.
"What is the true meaning of these words, ' Charity,' or Love, 'seeketh not her own '?
"When we examine a tree or a flower, we see that the root seems to be subservient to the stalk or trunk, the trunk and branches to be for the sake of the leaves, the leaves for the sake of the flower, the flower for the sake of the fruit, the fruit for the sake of the seed, the seed for the sake of the future plant, and so on; and we wonder which is the principal part, if there be any, that exists for its own sake, and not for the sake of something else. The truth is, no doubt, that each exists for its own sake and for the sake of the whole and of its fellow parts. It struggles for and seeks its own advantage directly and before all, and, by following this tendency of its own nature, it eventually profits the rest, whereas the greatest injury it could inflict on the other parts would be to suffer itself to decay and perish. We, collectively, are the Body of Christ and members in particular, and this fact is the basis of the doctrine of Christian charity. 'Lie not one to another,' 'defraud not one another? says St. Paul, 'because we are fellow members of one body.' Each member exists for its own sake and also for the sake of the whole body, the head and the fellow members. Each member tends directly to its own well-being and advantage, and
