Or again, let any minister imagine how he should write to a person, recently baptized. The freedom of his pardon, the necessity of perseverance, the greatness of the profession which he had made, the necessity of adhering to the vows which he had made, and many like topics, would doubtless be dwelt upon by many of us: few, I think, would have ventured upon the cheering and simple, but solemn words of St. Basil, who thus writes[1]—"We greatly long to see thee, especially since we heard that thou hast been honoured with that high honour, the robe of immortality, which, enveloping our human nature, hath abolished death in the flesh, and our mortal has been swallowed up in the garment of immortality. Since then the Lord has "made thee His own by that grace, and hath estranged thee from all sin, and opened the kingdom of heaven, and pointed out the paths which lead to its blessedness, we exhort thee, as being one so far excelling in wisdom, to receive that grace with all thoughtfulness, and be a faithful steward of that treasure, keeping watch over that royal deposit with all carefulness, that having preserved the seal uninjured, you may present it to the Lord, yourself shining forth with the brightness of the saints, having cast no spot or blemish on the pure garment of immortality, but carefully preserving holiness in all your members, as having put on Christ.—For 'as many,' He saith, 'as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.' Be then all the members holy, as befitting those which are covered with that pure and shining garment." Or, again, not only when one might calculate upon the first strong feeling produced by the remission of all sin, and the recent incorporation into Christ, but in the subsequent difficulties and trials of Christian warfare, this same topic is still urged. St. Ambrose[2] had to encourage and to cheer some clergy, who
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THE FATHERS—BAPTISM AN INCENTIVE
