beliefs. Indeed I think that this is a realistic way of looking at the life of Christ. When all the legend and hero-worship has been pruned away from the story of his life, one is inevitably left with the picture of a supremely brave, courageous, confident man. And I think that as a mere matter of personal psychology, once he had begun, he was compelled to go on behaving in the same kind of way, or else his courage would have drained away. Having begun, he could go on, but could never turn back. And if one reads the stories of the Crucifixion, which are so detailed as to be largely credible, it is quite clear that his courage never deserted him even in the last extremity. This rather suggests that the confident man does not have to cling to his courage, but rather his courage clings to him. And if he loses it, it is because he has chosen to throw it away: a deliberate act done after reflection; it is not due to the process of endurance causing the usual breakdown of self-control. In contrast the egotistical man, and most of us are egotistical, has to cling to his courage; and he loses it when called on to endure more than his self-control can withstand.
A good example of the man, who does not believe confidently, putting his beliefs into practice is the pettifogging lawyer, who is more concerned with the letter of the law than with its spirit. Somewhat frightened of reaching a balanced viewpoint, with the problem in question in true perspective, and making up his own mind about it, he prefers to shelter behind precedent. Precedent has its value, of course, in helping to form the professional lawyer's sense of perspective; and naturally if one expresses an opinion which appears to conflict with precedent, one wants to think again. But a slavish adherence to precedent is more a hindrance than a help. It tends progressively to destroy the ability to come to a definite opinion as to what is to be done, and in return it is only rarely that one finds a case absolutely on all fours with the problem in hand. Life is not only pleasanter and more carefree, but in my opinion one…