"He that hath a thousand friends hath not a friend to spare, And he that hath one enemy shall find him every where."
I have thought, and thought, about Lady Judith's question concerning perfection, and, as I expected, I cannot see my way through it at all. And what is more, I do not see how to reconcile it with what she said herself of Sister Eudoxia. So this morning I took the liberty of asking her what she meant.
Lady Judith smiled, and replied, "Wert thou puzzled, Helena?"
"I am glad of it," she answered. "I wanted to puzzle thee, and make thee think."
"I have been thinking a great deal," I said, "but I cannot think my way out of the labyrinth."
"We must take counsel of Holy Writ to find our way out," answered Lady Judith; and she laid her hand on her Greek Bible, which is a very handsome book, bound in carved wood, and locked with a golden clasp. She unlocked it with the little key which hangs from her girdle, and said, "Now listen, Helena. In the days when our Lord dwelt on middle earth, there were certain men amongst the Jews, called Pharisees, who were deemed exceedingly holy persons. So exact were they in the fulfilment of all duties, that they did not reckon their tithes paid, unless they taxed the very pot-herbs in their gardens. Yet our Lord said to His disciples,--'If your righteousness surpass not that of the Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.'"
"Likely enough," said I. "Surely any christened man could easily be better than heathen Jews."
"But He said more, Helena. 'Be ye then perfect, even as your Father, He in the heavens, is perfect.'"
"Perfect as the good God is perfect!" I exclaimed.
"That is our standard," she responded. "We are not to rest short of that."
"But we cannot! You yourself said it, holy Mother, when we were talking of Sister Eudoxia."
"I did, my child. Let us take two more passages from Holy Writ, and see if they cast any light upon it. 'The end of the law is Christ, unto righteousness, to every believer.' 'And ye are in Him complete.'"
"I have heard thee speak, Helena, of thy favourite legend of the two good knights of Greece. What was it that Sir Pythias agreed to do for Sir Damon?"
"To suffer death in his stead, if he did not return home at the appointed time."