ABSTRACT
As a value, purity is more akin to goodness than many-sidedness is. One has often been inclined, especially when morality has been dominated by religious sentiments, to see in purity the whole meaning of moral goodness. But the contrast of purity to many-sidedness is much more striking than its contrast to goodness, with which it is in harmony. Between it and many-sidedness there exists a distinct antinomy. Purity of heart is the primal Christian virtue. With it mental riches pass as an evil. Blessed are they who are poor in spirit. Blessedness is the ethos of the child. Yet the basic value is correctly estimated. With this estimate Christian ethics opened up new roads, with this more than with its commandment in regard to loving one's neighbour. Like goodness and nobleness, purity also is the basis of a series of well-known moral values.
