Page:The Power of the Spirit.djvu/53

48 Such Godliness, though rooted in the heart, is by no means unconnected with the mind, and depends for its activity upon a very firm strength of will.

The remaining five gifts all originate in the reason, except the fifth, Might or Power, which lies in the will. It is closely connected with the mental gift of Counsel—βουλὴ καὶ ἰσχύς—since ill-directed force is worse than useless. Just now we call it Bolshevism—power that proceeds from unchristianized wills. In the individual, obstinacy is the defence of weak men, and is but the simulacrum of triumphant strength of will. And as Might is not the headlong dashing into obstacles, or the ferocious determination to have one's own way, so it is not mere fortitude either—it is more than the power of patient resistance, and to render it only as fortitude under adversity is to rob it of its highest quality. To weigh and then to act, to balance with perfect judgement and then to perform with resistless energy and courage—that is Counsel and Might. It is the quality of the great ruler, the great general, and also of the perfect subordinate, in peace or war. We all must, during the years of struggle for freedom, have imagined sometimes the horrible difficulty of our marshals, admirals, presidents, and prime ministers, the agonizing process of making some irrevocable decision; and, as we watched the gradual unfolding of the plans of Marshal Foch, we must have realized the quality of real power,