Strive, therefore, to enlist all—women, men, and even children—in searching out the distressed, and in the moral improvement of the people. Make charity honorable; let there be benevolent enterprises in your locality in which all can take part, so that there may not be a man or woman who has not his or her poor, or who is not engaged somehow in works of charity.
This is the case already in several towns in France, where a person can scarcely decline being a member of some benevolent association without suffering a loss of respect. You must overcome all repugnances on this subject, more especially that of amour propre. There are those who will raise the following objection, which is by no means rare:—"How can I, a man in my position, a woman of my standing, busy myself about a set of beggarly people like these?" To such reply:—"And why not? In the great cities, men the most eminent by fortune, talent, and reputation, do it. … Even ladies who are fêted and sought after in the world—the young and beautiful, countesses, marchionesses, and princesses—even such do not disdain the task. There are women in Paris, possessing every thing that heart can desire, with a rental of from two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand francs, who deprive themselves of legitimate pleasures to occupy themselves in making clothes for the poor, visiting the most wretched hovels, and nursing the indigent sick." Tell them all this with gentleness and kindness; make the grand ladies of certain small towns—such as the wives of lawyers, judges, advocates, merchants, commission agents, and viscounts—ashamed of themselves. It will tend to wean them from that spirit of contempt and sensualism, and that pride of shabby finery, which consists in thinking one's self superior to a rival because she has had the signal honor of finding a better dressmaker. Tell them that, if they affect the fashions and usages of Paris, they would do well to imitate the charity, zeal, and devotion which are exercised there.
To cite but one instance, that of Donoso Cortès, whom we may now praise, for God has just called him to Himself. He disappeared every day from home at certain hours. No one knew where he went; but it was afterward discovered that it was the time of his visits to the poor. M. de Montalembert, who knew him well, tells us that he loved the poor passionately, but, withal, discreetly. In fact, in order to benefit the people, that is how they must be loved. Thereby alone can you hope to succeed in restoring them to the path of Gospel self-denial and self-sacrifice.
Be on your guard, moreover, against another excuse often urged by certain of the wealthier classes. They say:—"But the people distrust us; it is quite enough for us to attempt to lead them in one way to make them determined to follow another."
The people distrust the wealthy classes! If it be so, whose fault is it? Is it all theirs? They do not know those classes; they seldom see them except at a distance, and from a lower standing. Their estimate of them is founded on slander; how, then, can they have confidence in them? … Their confidence must be won, it must be raised by dint of benevolence, charity, and self-devotion, and the task is by no means impracticable. What! the possessors of fortune, and talent, and a name, and yet unable to gain that confidence on the part of the people which a schoolmaster, a village lawyer, a tipstaff, a man without any intellectual or moral worth, is able to secure! Of what avail, then, is it to spend so many long years in study? What does a good education mean, and of what use is it? Surely a very false idea has been formed of education. It will soon be made to consist in knowing how to train a horse, or to turn a compliment, or in instilling vanity into brains which need no addition of that quality. Knowledge, talent, position, and birth are not bestowed on us for the benefit of self, but for the welfare of all; and it therefore behoves those who are endowed with a greater capacity—who possess more knowledge, more time, more influence, and more heart than others—to share their advantages with those who have less, or who have not the leisure to acquire them.
That the influence of which we are speaking may be secured is proved by the fact of its existence throughout France. There are parts of the country where the rich man is king and father of his commune; which then resembles one great family. There, the tenant of the cottage exchanges smiles with the proprietor of the mansion, and the joys and sorrows of both are warmly reciprocated. No important step is taken by those who are below without knowing first what those above them think of it. Under such circumstances, how many evils are avoided, how many quarrels adjusted, how many animosities appeased! Oh, what a glorious mission! How sad to reflect that it is not carried out everywhere! Nevertheless, strive to make it understood by persuasion. Make frequent appeals to the hearts of the rich, to their love of humanity. Invoke them to aid us in stopping the misery at its source. Invoke their pity on the masses who toil and suffer beneath us; their pity for those poor children whose fathers devour their bread; pity on behalf of the aged who pine in cold and hunger; pity for the woman who spends her Sunday evenings in tears, expecting every moment to encounter the brutality of a husband who reels home with his reason and heart drowned in liquor. Appeal even to their sense of shame, and tell them that, if it is right to protect animals, it is still more so to cherish human beings—that their words, coupled with a good example, would be all-powerful to remedy these miseries—that it is the rich and great of the earth who sow good or evil in the hearts of men, and that if matters do not progress to their satisfaction, they should begin by taking the blame to themselves. … Your efforts will be appreciated by many. … You will be blessed by all.
Such are the French people; such, it appears to us, is the way to do them good.