Page:The Eternal Priesthood (4th ed).djvu/95

Rh suffer loss. But the loss is not only privative. Not to have a sufficient demand on his powers to call them out into activity is the reason of the inertness and incapacity of many a priest who is capable of great effort and of high attainment. There are two things which bring out into activity the powers that lie hid in men. The one is a great force of will which makes a man independent of external stimulus. The other is the tax which is laid upon him by duty and responsibility. Few have such force of will, and many have little to tax or elicit their powers. Sometimes men who, as students or clerics, promised great works for the Church have been placed by necessity in a sphere so narrow that their powers have had little to call them out. Such a sphere was too limited for their zeal. But in saying this we must not forget the words of S. Charles: that one soul is diocese enough for a Bishop. In counting by number we lose sight of the worth of each single soul, and the reward of saving if it be only one eternal soul. This would give work enough to a priest in the scarcest flock. But this conviction needs much reflection and much force of will. The effect of inactivity on most men is relaxation, and a love of ease. A small mission becomes a Sleepy Hollow, and the priest too often