Predicament of Human Incompetence 19
of Christianity were colored by her sulphurous denuncia-
tions of self-righteousness and made fragrant by the un-
forgettable smell of her pantry.
There, reduced to its simplest terms, is the type we trust.
She did not think she was good; but out of her honest
humility came that eagerness to give the best she had when-
ever the need arose. Her character was not like something
self-made and self-righteous. Her goodness was more like
a spirit that awakened her, in the midst of her faults; and
she responded, grateful for the chance to offer what little
she could, letting the results take care of themselves, anx-
ious only to be faithful, and enjoying a reward which no
wealth could give. Her life did not consist in the things that
she possessed. She was one of the common saints who though
poor could make many rich.
And having a mother of the same type, in the real apos-
tolic succession of family life, I was given my lasting taste
of a religious quality of character long before I had made
up my mind about religious beliefs. The most intellectual
people in the world gathered the impressions they live by
today from a similar homely source.
This justifiable type is most effective amid the finiteness
of human life, pursuing the unknown and unattainable with
never a chance to be all right. The best scientists, knowing
they do not know and trying to make themselves willing
servants of the truth, are of this sort. So were the best
teachers we remember, humble about their achievements,
ready to take our ignorance as their burden and gladly
teach, sowing harvests they would never reap. So are the
chosen few in every community, most sensitive to wrong and
most alive to what ought to be. So are the ever-willing peo-
ple everywhere who make no pretensions but carry more
than their share of the public load, suffering most from the
public inertia and Outwearying the evil opposition around