"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 do not understand them, holy Mother." "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." "Suppose that Sir Pythias had suffered death before Sir Damon’s return, and that when Sir Damon came back, the Lord King had put him to death also: what wouldst thou call that?" "Oh, that would never have been just!" said I. "But why? Sir Damon had been sentenced to die." "Yes, but when another had died for him—Oh, it would be cruelly unfair!" "In other words, Sir Damon would be reckoned to have died, so far as the law was concerned, in the person of his friend?" "Exactly," said I. "And this friend, remember, had voluntarily given his life. Now, this is the point to which I want to bring thee. The death of Sir Pythias would have been reckoned to Sir Damon; and this last would have been accounted to have paid the full penalty to which he was sentenced, and to be thenceforward a free and blameless man." "Of course," said I. "There could have been no other result."