One other thing must be said of the spirit in which the work of Reconstruction should be undertaken, which goes to the root of the whole matter, and a word must be used which we would have avoided if possible—­“the word is too often profaned for me to profane it.”  But search for a substitute has been unavailing.

There are some words which are better unspoken, except in case of necessity, that become soiled by common use.  The too ready employment of them may savour indeed of that unctuous tone which makes ordinary Englishmen and boys squirm.  “Conscience” is one.  When a man speaks of his conscience you at once, and quite rightly, begin to suspect him.  He is probably going to refuse some hard task which others are undertaking, to do something which is offensive to his fellows, or at best, in sheer obstinacy to insist on a course of conduct which he knows cannot be justified by reason.  Someone has defined “conscience” as the “deification of our prejudices”; the giving of a kind of divine authority to something we will insist on doing though it brings no good, even causes harm, to ourselves and offends and injures others, or the giving a name which should be sacred as commanding what we want to do for other reasons.  A staunch Nonconformist—­one of the clearest thinkers and probably the finest preacher of the last generation—­how he would have hated the phrase, but one cannot pause for another!—­truly said of the passive resisters in his day, “There is a deal more of politics than of conscience in their action.”  Yet there are times when even the word conscience may have to be used, and no other will suffice.  Another is “Duty”—­so often put forward as the excuse for people doing something stupid, probably something they have been in the habit of doing and seem unable to give up, but which is really only a nuisance to themselves and also to others.  Yet there are under the abused words ideas which should be the guide of life.

The third is “Love”—­an earnest and intense desire for the welfare of our fellow-men, keen joy in their happiness, keen sorrow in their troubles.  The word is out and shall not, except perhaps in a quotation, be used again.  To use the word lightly or without grave reason seems almost a breach of the third clause of the Decalogue, remembering what is said to be its equivalent by one who of all men who have lived had the most intimate means of knowing.  All work of reconstruction must be inspired by a spirit of true philanthropy; without that the labour is in vain.  There is no other motive power that can move the world in the path of true progress.