Lord Northbourne
The virtues cannot by themselves supply the impulse that sets men on the way, nor the guiding light that keeps them on it… the positive and decisive factor that makes them spiritually fruitful is of a purely spiritual nature… its presence in an individual implies an orientation of the whole being directed towards the absolute, the infinite, the eternal, towards that which is “not of this world”; an orientation manifested in a love of God—much more than a mere belief—that secretly permeates every thought and every act and makes it fruitful, so that it can play its part in the fulfilment of man’s true destiny. If the souls of men are orientated in that sense, so also will be their civilisation considered as an entity.
With thanks to Studies in Comparative Religion.
