03.08 The quest of the pearl

VIII. THE QUEST OF THE PEARL

It is a merchantman who seeks the pearls, a man whose search is a business demanding and receiving care, thoroughness, concentration. It is the weak and disappointing side of our modern spirit that it is so superficial, so vaguely restless., If we are to find “pearls” we must seek with real deliberation and persistence, not as the dilettante but as the merchantman. Dr. Jowett said once, in one of his pithy sermons, “The search for truth is one thing, fluttering after it is another.” There is too much of this vague fluttering in the modern spirit. Many people feel the mere seeking, travelling, enquiring so interesting that they are not seriously concerned about the finding. We may be sure that in the spiritual as in the artistic or scientific life, the mere amateur will do no great work and make no great discoveries. You will never get an answer to your questions unless your heart and will are set upon the getting of it.

TAGS: [Parables]