This is one of the unavoidable hazards of war under modern conditions. It does not make us ignore the magnificent work of our Fleet, nor tremble for the ultimate issue. Who can be giddy and careless with darkened streets, trains, trams, all telling of the awful possibilities of the new development of aerial warfare? Who, even among those not directly touched by anxiety or bereavement, can go on just as usual in luxury, self-indulgence, and ease amid the crushing mass of suffering around them on all sides? Thank God that, though we may have erred very grievously through softness of living, we are not a callous people, but we needed a strong, stern discipline of the national soul; some stirring and trumpet-tongued appeal to the national life, and in the righteous mercy of God it has come. Some of the immediate effects are obvious; but what are the lasting results to be? The _Guardian_, of a few weeks back, thus soundly comments upon the matter:-- "It is true that the outbreak of war put a sudden end to much that was thoughtless, stupid, and even base in contemporary life. 'Tango teas' and afternoon Bridge among women have receded almost as far into ancient history as dinners at Ranelagh or suppers at Cremorne. But human nature is easily frightened into propriety by a crisis; it is not so easy to maintain the new way of life when the fright is safely over. The things that are amiss in our national life, and above all that lack of seriousness which so many observers have lamented during the last few years, can be amended only by a clear conviction of the inherent unsoundness of our outlook, and a firm determination to rebuild it upon new and more stable foundations." The soul of the nation needs discipline, and that can only come through the effort of the individual to discipline his own life. There is a ceaseless temptation to echo the cry of the disciples in regard to the few loaves and fishes: "What are they among so many?" Of what value or power is my feeble little life among the teeming millions that go to make up the nation? Put away the thought, for it is a direct temptation of the Devil. It was just when, in the very depths of his human despair, Elijah cried out, "I, I only am left," that God revealed to him the seven thousand men who had not bowed the knee to Baal. It was because Athanasius was content to stand _contra mundum_, against the world, that the Catholic faith was preserved to the Church. Let us very seriously examine ourselves as to the use we are making of our life with regard to other people. We have considered that life, in various details, in respect to ourselves, and only incidentally as it affects others, but now let us put away all thought of self. Take the one absolute standard of life as set in the text, "I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me."