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235
The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft
·
George Gissing
221
Our
vice
is
self-righteousness.
We
are
essentially
an
Old
Testament
people;
Christianity
has
never
entered
into
our
soul
we
see
ourselves
as
the
Chosen,
and
by
no
effort
of
spiritual
aspiration
can
attain
unto
humility.
In
this
there
is
nothing
hypocritic.
The
blatant
upstart
who
builds
a
church,
lays
out
his
money
in
that
way
not
merely
to
win
social
consideration;
in
his
curious
little
soul
he
believes
(so
far
as
he
can
believe
anything)
that
what
he
has
done
is
pleasing
to
God
and
beneficial
to
mankind.
He
may
have
lied
and
cheated
for
every
sovereign
he
possesses;
he
may
have
polluted
his
life
with
uncleanness;
he
may
have
perpetrated
many
kinds
of
cruelty
and
baseness--but
all
these
things
has
he
done
against
his
conscience,
and,
as
soon
as
the
opportunity
comes,
he
will
make
atonement
for
them
in
the
way
suggested
by
such
faith
as
he
has,
the
way
approved
by
public
opinion.
His
religion,
strictly
defined,
is
an
ineradicable
belief
in
his
own
religiousness.
As
an
Englishman,
he
holds
as
birthright
the
true
Piety,
the
true
Morals.
That
he
has
"gone
wrong"
is,
alas,
undeniable,
but
never--even
when
leering
most
satirically--did
he
deny
his
creed.
When,
at
public
dinners
and
elsewhere,
he
tuned
his
voice
to
the
note
of
edification,
this
man
did
not
utter
the
lie
of
the
hypocrite
he
meant
every
word
he
said.
Uttering
high
sentiments,
he
spoke,
not
as
an
individual,
but
as
an
Englishman,
and
most
thoroughly
did
he
believe
that
all
who
heard
him
owed
in
their
hearts
allegiance
to
the
same
faith.
He
is,
if
you
like,
a
Pharisee--but
do
not
misunderstand;
his
Pharisaism
has
nothing
personal.
That
would
be
quite
another
kind
of
man;
existing,
to
be
sure,
in
England,
but
not
as
a
national
type.
No;
he
is
a
Pharisee
in
the
minor
degree
with
regard
to
those
of
his
countrymen
who
differ
from
him
in
dogma;
he
is
Pharisee
absolute
with
regard
to
the
foreigner.
And
there
he
stands,
representing
an
Empire.
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