Page:The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII.djvu/210



204 CHIEF DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS AS CITIZENS.

should be alarmed at the wickedness of men; but in the case of nations falling away from Christian virtue there is not a like ground of assurance, for sin maketh nations miserable} If every bygone age has experienced the force of this truth, wherefore should not our own? There are in truth very many signs which proclaim that just punishments are already menacing, and the condition of modern States tends to confirm this beUef, since we per- ceive many of them in sad plight from intestine disorders, and not one entirely exempt. But should those leagued together in wickedness hurry onward in the road they have boldly chosen, should they increase in influence and power in proportion as they make headway in their evil purposes and crafty schemes, there will be ground to fear lest the very foundations nature has laid for States to rest upon be utterly destroyed. Nor can such misgivings be removed by any mere human effort, especially as a vast number of men, having rejected the Christian faith, are on that account justly incurring the penalty of their pride, since Winded by their passions they search in vain for truth, laying hold on the false for the true, and thinking themselves wise when they call evil good, and good evil, and put darkness in the place of light, and light in the place of darkness} It is therefore necessary that God come to the rescue, and that, mindful of His mercy, He turn an eye of compassion on human society. Hence, We renew the urgent entreaty We have already made, to redouble zeal and perseverance, when addressing humble supplica- tions to our merciful God, so that the virtues whereby a Christian life is perfected may be reawakened. It is, however, urgent before all, that charity, which is the main foundation of the Christian life, and apart from which the other virtues exist not or remain barren, should be quickened and maintained. Therefore is it that the Apostle St. Paul, after having exhorted the Colossians to flee all vice and cultivate all virtue, adds: Above all things 1 Prov. xiv. 34, ' Isa. v. 20.