At Christ’s coming, the Greco-Roman civilisation had reached the last stages of corruption, and the slavery of the vast majority of men failed to satisfy the thirst for supremacy which devoured the small section of privileged leaders in ancient society. The barbarian peoples, on their part, recognised no other power than that of brute force, nor any other pleasures than those of sanguinary orgies. To transform this condition of society, which toiled only for money and sensual enjoyment, Christ gave forth these touching and sublime words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: blessed are the pure in heart” (_Beati pauperes spiritu: beati mundo corde_). To the savage spirit of the barbarian who deified brute force Christ opposed the reverence for all that is weak and feeble by clothing himself with all manner of infirmities: “Come, ye blessed of my Father; I was poor, I was sick, I was in prison, and ye comforted me; inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” In these powerful words was contained the germ of modern civilisation; wherever the Gospel reaches a feeling of tenderness and respect for the poor and the weak must go hand in hand with the spirit of chastity, self-denial, and devotion. Two words unknown to the old world sum up this transformation--humility and charity. The rich, the high-born, and even the offspring of royalty, from the moment they believe in the divine word, are found tending the sick in hospitals, and the proof of true belief in the Messiah is ever the same as that which He gave to attest his divine mission to John’s disciples: “Unto the poor the Gospel is preached.” [Illustration: Fig. 265.--Hospitality.--Jesus Christ, represented as a Pilgrim, being received by two Preaching Brothers of the Order of St. Dominic.--Fresco-painting by Fra Angelico in St. Mark’s Convent at Florence (Fifteenth Century).]