On the average, a man
is stronger than a woman, he is worth more than a woman,
he has a longer prospect of life than a woman. There is no
reason in all the range of physical and economic science, no
reason in all the philosophy of the Superman, why he should
give his place in the life-boat to a woman.
Where, then, does this rule which prevailed in the sinking
Titanic come from? It comes from God, through the faith
of Jesus of Nazareth.
It is the ideal of self-sacrifice. It is the rule that "the
strong ought to bear the infirmities of those that are weak."
It is the divine revelation which is summed up in the words:
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends."
It needs a tragic catastrophe like the wreck of the Titanic
to bring out the absolute contradiction between this ideal
and all the counsels of materialism and selfish expediency.
I do not say that the germ of this ideal may not be found
in other religions. I do not say that they are against it. I
do not ask any man to accept my theology (which grows
shorter and simpler as I grow older), unless his heart leads
him to it. But this I say: The ideal that the strength of
the strong is given them to protect and save the weak, the
ideal which animates the rule of "Women and children first,"
is in essential harmony with the spirit of Christ.
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