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Signs of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 44.

Christian Progress.

Signs of the Times

Nov 19, 1885

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Nov 19, 1885

Christian Progress.

By Ellen G. White

LAST Sunday evening Mrs. E. G. White, a lady recently from the United States, where she has labored for forty years as a speaker on temperance and other Christian duties, gave an address at the Philharmonic Hall, to a full house.
Taking as her text 2 Peter 1:4-11, she proceeded to read and comment: "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." If we escape the contaminating influences of this degenerate age, we have earnest work before us, and we must have a living connection with Christ. We must have a knowledge of his life and character, and a desire to be like him. Then we must seek earnestly to overcome the temptations that are around us, and have faith to believe that his promises will be verified unto us.
"And beside this," says the apostle, "giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue." The sinner who comes to Christ for pardon, hope, and salvation, must lay the foundation in a pure, virtuous character. Christ will not accept a polluted offering. The soul-temple must be cleansed from its defilement. Then the work of character-building is begun aright. He that clings to cherished sins, and continues to indulge sinful habits, cannot be a partaker of the divine nature; for he has not escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
The apostle continues: "And to virtue, knowledge." The Lord is not pleased to have any of us remain in ignorance. He would have us put to the best use the talents of reason and intelligence that he has given us. We are not excusable if we allow things of minor consequence to so occupy our God-given time that the mind will not be stored with useful knowledge. The mental powers should be taxed to think, and we should thus gain strength to reach any height in knowledge. We must not be satisfied with reaching a low level. There are high and holy attainments for us to reach. But we shall never make that advancement that God would have us until we have an experimental knowledge of Christ and his work of redemption. We must not allow earthly, temporal interests to absorb our minds and steal our affections from our Creator. Although the world, with its customs, maxims, and amusements, intrudes itself upon the mind, Christians will show by their words and deportment that they have chosen Christ as their portion; they have chosen to be partakers with him of his self-denying, self-sacrificing life, that they may one day be partakers of his glory.
The great temptation of this age is the indulgence of pride, the love of praise, and the love of the world. Time is golden; and a day spent in selfish gratification is a day lost to all eternity. But time employed in searching the Scriptures with a desire to learn the truth will win everlasting riches. Angels come near to pour light and knowledge into the darkened understanding, and the light thus given strengthens the intellect and quickens the perceptions to discern the precious gems of truth. Knowledge thus gained is not left to perish with common, earthly things, but will be carried with us into the eternal world, and through the ceaseless ages of eternity the richness of God's word will be continually unfolding.
The Bible is the only safe guide to the path of peace and happiness. It is God's directory, and the true Christian will make it the study of his life. As he connects himself with God, adhering firmly to principle, refusing to follow inclination or to be led into the deceiving customs and practices of the world, he will really occupy a position similar to that of Daniel. While in the courts of Babylon, temptations surrounded him, but he turned neither to the right nor to the left to indulge self. He and his companions purposed in their hearts that they would not eat of the luxuries of the king's table, neither drink of his wine. They chose to eat simple food, that they might preserve their bodies in a healthful condition, and thus have clearness of mind. They did what they could to obtain knowledge, and then God worked for them, and "gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom." These young men honored God, and God honored them. The pen of inspiration presents their cases before us, that we may follow their example.
To "knowledge" we are commanded to add "temperance." It is the duty of true Christians to practice temperance in eating, in drinking, and in dressing. The Lord wants us to be examples of piety to those who know not Jesus and his matchless love. My sisters, we need a better understanding of this wonderful house in which the Lord has placed us. We want to know how to keep it in a healthful condition, so that the human machinery may act harmoniously. The better health of body and mind we possess, the more acceptable service can we render to God. Great evils follow the indulgence of perverted appetite. The blood becomes feverish and diseased, and impatience is the sure result.
The apostle adds: "And to temperance, patience." Who ever saw an intemperate man or woman that exercised the grace of patience? How much unhappiness might be avoided if all would eat, and drink, and dress with an eye single to the glory of God! We cannot afford to make the world our criterion. We want to do right because it is right. It is the Bible standard that we are to reach. The Lord tells us to come out from the world and be separate, and his promise is, "I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters." What an exalted position is here offered us,—the privilege of becoming members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King! Some seem to think that it is degrading to become a Christian. This is not so. The religion of Christ never degrades. It refines, purifies, and ennobles the receiver, and fits him for the society of heavenly angels. The work of overcoming is a grand, a noble work. It is a hand to hand battle with the powers of darkness, and in this battle we must individually engage.
"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity." Here Peter presents to us the ladder of true sanctification, the base of which rests upon the earth, while the topmost round reaches to the throne of the Infinite. We cannot with one effort seize the topmost round of the ladder. We must climb round after round. In this struggle we are in danger of becoming dizzy, and fainting and falling, unless we keep our eyes upward, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We see the heights to be reached, and become discouraged over future difficulties, when it is present duties that demand all the powers of our being. But we have the promise that divine aid will be combined with our human effort. We may be more than conquerors through Him that hath loved us and given his life a ransom for us.
Jesus has made an infinite sacrifice in behalf of the race. He stepped down from the eternal throne, laid aside his robes of royalty, clothed his divinity with humanity, and came to a world all seared and marred by the curse, that the lost race might one day be restored to their glorious Eden home. He has become the representative and surety for the race. He has brought the treasures of Heaven within our reach, and it remains with us to say whether or not we will avail ourselves of them. It is only by the light reflected from the cross of Calvary that we can know the value of the human soul, or the depths of degradation from which man was rescued. It was to restore man to the perfection in which he was first created that this great sacrifice was made. With his human arm Jesus encircles the race, while with his divine arm he grasps the throne of the Infinite, thus uniting finite man with the infinite God, and connecting earth with Heaven. How can we neglect so great salvation?
It is natural for man to cling to life. Some live through years of intense suffering, and still desire to have their lives prolonged. But when Jesus offers us life, immortal life, in the mansions he has gone to prepare for us, why do we turn from it, and devote our time and energy to securingearthly treasures? We all need Jesus to be our comfort and hope in affliction, suffering, and death. He has brightened the tomb for all who center their hopes in him. Through him life and immortality are brought to light; he is the lifegiver, and he it is who will break the fetters of the tomb when he shall come in power and great glory. Shall we, in view of the shortness of this life, neglect to secure that life that runs parallel with the life of God?
Every day it is our privilege to live for Jesus. Commence the day with prayer; morning, noon, and night, let your prayers ascend for wisdom and grace to overcome every device of Satan. Jesus is your only hope; "upward to God be the soul's adoration." Christians should be the happiest people upon the earth. In the eyes of the world, houses, lands, and money make men honored and respected. Not so in the sight of God. He measures them according to their moral worth. If they live for display, to receive the praise of men, they will receive no other reward. Their names will be written in the earth to perish with all things perishable. If they live to honor and glorify God, if true goodness, benevolence, and the love of God, are seen in their connection with their fellow-men, their names will be immortalized among the heavenly host, and Jesus declares that he will not blot their names out of the book of life.
The apostle continues: "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure." The Christian's life is one of progression, not of backsliding. "For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall." I once knew a man in the State of Maine whose religious life was very consistent, but who seemed greatly depressed at times, fearing that he might become a backslider, and that through his example others might fall. One day he came to the prayer-meeting, his face radiant with hope and joy, and said: "I have found the way; I need never fall and dishonor my Saviour. By constantly adding grace to grace we may go straight forward in the Christian course. The apostle says, 'If ye do these things, ye shall never fall.'" Let those trembling souls who constantly fear lest they shall fall, fear no longer. Let them live upon the plan of addition, and God will work for them upon the plan of multiplication.
The apostle has presented the only true sanctification. There are many to-day who claim that they are holy and cannot sin. The only correct standard of sanctification is the law of God. By it is the knowledge of sin. Genuine sanctification is the work of a life-time. It is climbing the ladder, round after round. None of the prophets or apostles made proud boasts of holiness. The nearer they came to perfection of character, the less worthy and righteous they viewed themselves. But those who have the least sense of the perfection of Jesus, those whose eyes are least directed to him, are the ones who make the strongest claims to perfection. Daniel was a man greatly beloved of God; yet he is represented on one occasion as confessing his sins and the sins of his people. If poor, fallen men would walk carefully and humbly with God, distrusting self and confiding wholly in Jesus, such a light and power would be revealed in our world as would be convincing to unbelievers.
Jesus is our only hope; let us cling to him. The promise of eternal life is on condition of obedience. "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Now is the time to wash our robes of character in the blood of the Lamb.

LET US GO FORTH.

By Bonar

SILENT, like men in solemn haste, Girded wayfarers of the waste, We pass out at the world's wide gate, Turning our back on all its state; We press along the narrow road That leads to life, to bliss, to God.
We cannot and we would not stay; We dread the snares that throng the way; We fling aside the weight of sin, Resolved the victory to win; We know the peril, but our eyes Rest on the splendor of the prize.
What though with weariness oppressed, 'Tis but a little, and we rest; This throbbing heart and burning brain Will soon be calm and cool again. Night is far spent, and morn is near— Morn of the cloudless and the clear. —Bonar.

The Largeness of the Promises.

A CAREFUL look into the promises of God will reveal how large they are. Just before our Saviour's departure from his disciples, he bade them "ask largely," that their joy might be full. The apostle tells us that God "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." This would seem to put the fullness of blessing easily within the reach of any disciple. Of course we all know that there are certain limitations put on prayer, such, for instance, as that we have no warrant to ask for things to be consumed for our own lusts; nor are we to ask in mere wantonness; but whatsoever is needful for our good, or for the work of the Lord, we may be sure that he will not withhold. In the olden time he challenged Israel to prove him and see if he would not "open the windows of heaven" and pour them out such a blessing as they would not have room enough to receive. Such promises might be multiplied; but they will occur to every child of God who is familiar with his Bible.
In view of this truth, the question arises, Why is it, then, that our prayers are so seldom, or at least so meagerly answered? It would not be true to say that such is the experience of all God's children, because there are thousands who can testify to the abundance of blessings received, and to the almost unvarying fullness of answers to prayer. But with many it is not so. It is to such we have a word. God's large promises are limited by believers themselves as the way in which they deal with them. When the prophet Elisha brought relief to the poor woman, by multiplying the oil she had, as she poured it out, until all the vessels she had were filled, he said: "Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few." This was an unlimited promise to her. Nor did the oil cease its miraculous flow so long as there was a vessel left to be filled. Had she provided more vessels, there would have been more oil.
When the same prophet told the young king of Israel to "smite upon the ground" with his arrows, in token of the way in which the Lord would give him victory over his enemies, he smote but thrice, and then stayed his hand. The old prophet was wroth with him for staying his hand, saying: "Thou shouldst have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it; whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice." These are incidents which convey important truths. God's large blessings wait on those who are ready to bring plenty of vessels and continue to smite for them. The largeness of the promise, or rather the fulfillment of the promises in the large measure of them, is limited by our own actions. What, then, are some of the things in our bearing toward God which limit his promises?
First and foremost of all reasons is our unbelief. Jesus could do no mighty work in Nazareth, his own town, because of the unbelief of the people. If we cannot honor God with our faith, he cannot honor either us or himself with doing mighty things for us. For his own name's sake, he will do something; but not all that he has promised, if we will not believe. When we stop to reason about his promises, and say to ourselves, "We do not see how God can do so and so," this is a notification to God that we do not believe him. The unbelieving lord of Samaria said to the prophet: "Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be." He could see no human possibility of the word of the prophet coming true, and he did not believe that Jehovah could do anything the how of which he could not fathom. Nevertheless, the thing was done; and it was done, so far as the means were concerned, in a perfectly human way.
How could power from on high be sent upon those waiting disciples at Jerusalem? If they had stopped to reason out the "how" of the fulfillment of God's promise, they never would have been endued with power. Unbelieving reason is always asking, How can these things be? Then we are not willing to comply with the conditions which the Lord imposes as being necessary (for our good) for the fulfillment of the promise. "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, . . . and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord." But we do not want to bring all the tithes into the storehouse. We would rather save our tithes and get the blessing too. "He that soweth liberally shall also reap liberally." But then we would like to have a great harvest without much expenditure of seed.
"Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and I will receive you, saith the Lord." But we would like to have the blessing of acceptance with the Lord, and, at the same time, maintain our worldly associations, habits, and relations. Still again, we are languid in pursuit of the blessing. "Continue instant in prayer." "Be not weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." But we do not like to be kept waiting so long, and would rather go without the blessing than wait for it, and so give over praying. Many a blessing has been lost because there has not been a patient continuance in seeking after it.
One end of the promised blessings of God is to draw us away from our own insufficient reason about spiritual things, away from a too great love of the things of this world, and to a more intimate and close walk with himself. This is the purpose of the conditions which he attaches to his promises. If we are willing to have God's blessings in God's way, there is no limit to the measure of the blessings which he is ready to bestow; but if, through unbelief, vain reasoning about the way of God in fulfilling his word, hesitation in rendering to God of that which he has given us, unwillingness to choose him above every worldly or earthly thing, or slothful indifference in waiting upon him, we limit his power, we must expect but a little of the exceeding great and precious things he waits to do for us.—Independent.

Doing God’s Will

By Margaret J. Preston

To do God's will—that's all That need concern us; not to carp or ask The meaning of it, but to ply our task Whatever may befall, Accepting good or ill as he shall send, And wait until the end. —Margaret J. Preston.

Supporting an Enterprise Fully

It is better to throw our whole weight into an enterprise to make it successful, than to stand idly by to see if it is going to be a success before giving it our support.

God Is Good to Israel

"TRULY God is good to Israel." Ps. 73: 1.

Backbone.

ONE thing which Christians, as well as others, need at the present day is backbone. Not a backbone like a ramrod, that cannot yield or bend, but a well-articulated spinal column, which is strong enough to hold a man upright and keep him from being crushed beneath the burdens that press upon him. These are days of easy-going piety; and men are too often ruled by compromise rather than conscience.
Says Mr. Spurgeon: "Oak has given place to willow. Everybody has grown limp. Out of the generality of limpness has come an admiration for it. A man cannot speak a plain word without being accused of bitterness, and if he denounces error he is narrow-minded; for all must join the universal-admiration society, or be placed under a ban, and be howled down."
Now in such a condition of things as this there is special call, not for stubbornness and crustiness, but for a gentle, patient, unyielding conscientiousness and firmness, which anchors the soul to the everlasting Rock, and causes the heart to rest on Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and who will never leave nor forsake us.—Christian.

The Two Aspects of Repentance

TRUE repentance has a double aspect; it looks upon the past with a weeping eye, and upon the future with a watchful eye.

The Gospel Invitation.

By William Ings

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matt. 11:28-30.
THIS invitation is extended to all the human race, from the fall of Adam to the close of probation. It is an invitation to the sinner, who needs pardon. Sin has brought upon him a heavy load. Paul, in Hebrews 12:1, speaks of sins as weights, and calls upon the sinner to lay these weights aside, and thus free himself from this burden.
Paul knew from a sad experience the burden of sin. He was led to cry out in the agony of his soul, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Rom. 7:24. We learn that the psalmist had a similar experience; but he was not left in despair. "This poor man cried," he says, "and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." Ps. 34:6.
Mercy's door is still open to all; and the words of our Saviour are still in force. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22:17. This is a general invitation, which is accompanied by the operation of the Spirit of God upon the heart, showing us our need of a Saviour. Then commences the work of disposing of our burden of guilt, which separates us from God.
Our first inquiry is, What is sin? We go to the word, and find that "sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. The law shows us our true condition. It was through the law that the apostle Paul became convicted of sin, as we learn from the following: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Rom. 7:7. And when perfect submission to the law of God was wrought in him, he could say: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:1. The carnal mind had been brought into subjection to the will of God; "because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Rom. 8:7.
Thus we learn that in coming to Christ, we must lay down our rebellion against the law of our Creator. We must follow the example of our Saviour, who came, not to do his own will, but the will of Him that sent him. John 6:38. And in his own words we are told what the will of the Father is: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." John 15:10.
Our love must be supreme, as we learn from the following text: "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Deut. 6:5. A partial service will not answer the demands; we must be doers of the word. Says the apostle James: "If any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." James 1:23-25.
From this testimony we learn that we must constantly look into the law of liberty; and if we do so, and obey it, we shall be Christlike. Obedience to this law is what constitutes righteousness. "And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us." Deut. 6:25.
When we are in harmony with the law of God, then we are in harmony with Christ; and this harmony will bring rest to our souls. Nevertheless, it will involve a cross because of the separation from the world which is required. The new birth has taken place. Old things have passed away, and our steps have been directed into the narrow path. Temptation will assail us on every hand; but we do not have to battle in our own strength, for Christ is our help in every time of need. We are now brought into the school of Christ, and are admonished to learn of him, our perfect Pattern. His chief characteristic is meekness, which consists in perfect submission to the will of God. This is verified by his own statement: "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me." John 4:34. And again he says: "I can of mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." John 5:30.
We here learn what constitutes true meekness. Christ has set us an example; and we are admonished by the text to learn of him. In order to be followers of Christ, we must do as Christ did; hence it stands us in hand to study his character, imitate his example, and walk in his footsteps. We cannot do this in our own strength, but help is promised. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." John 16:13. And our experience will teach us that his yoke is easy, and his burden light. WM. INGS.

Secret Faults.

This may not mean so much faults concealed from others as those which are hidden from ourselves. Do you think this impossible?
Long ago a friend made the startling suggestion that men are usually ignorant of their greatest faults. Said my friend, "I did not make the discovery myself, but it was suggested by a minister, a man of much experience in life and in the world. It set me to thinking, and what I at first denied I afterward concluded must be true."
In the first place, if we really saw a thing to be our greatest fault, if we had any true desire for improvement, the first impulse would be to correct that fault, and then it would cease to be the greatest. For our own sakes, we do not go on willfully indulging what we know to be a fault or a blemish in our character, and one which others must recognize; our desire to stand well in their esteem is too strong for that.
Then we may mistake in our estimate of our own characters, and so remain ignorant. For instance, what others regard as obstinacy may appear to us but proper firmness, or perhaps fixed principles. Men do not always know themselves.
I have seen an avaricious man who called himself, and who really thought he was, liberal and benevolent. He had generous impulses, and was always going to do something at some future time. The only trouble was that he had so many schemes for gain, so many present uses for his money, that his generous plans were always in the future and receding. He loved benevolence, but he loved gain better. Nothing could have surprised him more than to be told that he was not a liberal man. He was, and is, ignorant of his greatest fault.
I know a woman who is uncharitable and severe; she speaks out just what she thinks, and so says a great many hard things. Yet she does not mean to be harsh and hard; she considers it only commendable frankness, and would be surprised, and led to an indignant denial, if she were told that she disregarded the law of love. She does not mean to do so; and she has kindness in her heart, but her severe judgment is stronger than love. I know a person who is thoroughly selfish, and yet is exceedingly kind to his own family or friends, and he thinks he does a great deal for others. But indeed he never puts himself out of his way, and what he does is done for those who are his own—his second self. He would be astonished if you accused him of selfishness. Said my friend, "Tell me my greatest fault, and see if I do not know it." "No; you would not believe it, and would only be disturbed; you could gain nothing, and I should not stand as well with you."
That is a hard case, if we are not only ignorant of our faults, but will not bear to be told of them. Then the help lies in this—there is One "who searcheth the heart." If we are truly desirous to be better, let us search and try our ways, and turn unto the Lord. Let us honestly pray, "Cleanse thou me from secret faults."—Sel.

The Colored Man and the Bible.

THE tree is known by its fruits, and the book is known by its effects. A skeptic once told a colored man the Bible was not true.
"Dat book not true? Dat book is true. I was once a drunkard, and a liar, and a blasphemer, and I used to steal; and dat book taught me to be honest and true. If dat was a bad book, it would not make bad men good."
A bad book may make a good man bad, but it will not make a bad man good. The men who read the Bible and obey it are the best men in the world; the men who are ignorant of it, or hate and despise it, are the worst. Where this book goes, it carries with it safety, peace, and blessing; and where this book is unknown, rejected, and hated, there wickedness, and cruelty, and wrong prevail. And the influence of this book goes everywhere; in humble dwellings and in lofty palaces, men and women are living faithful, righteous, and spotless lives under the influence of this book. Guided by the light of Christ, cheered by his smile, happy in his forgiving love, and hoping for the rewards which he has promised, the influences of this book follow them through all the walks of life, scattering blessing wherever they go.—Sel.

God Shows Us the Next Step

By Sunday School Times

If we will only have patience with God's leading, he will always show us the way as fast as we are really ready to go on. The trouble with most of us is that we want to see the path through to the end, before we take the first step. We want to know, before we start, how we are to come out. But this is not God's way for us. A man who is traveling in a dark night on a country road, does not have the whole way lighted at once by the lantern he carries. It shows him only one step; but as he takes that, the lantern is borne forward, and another step is lighted, and then another, until in the end the whole way has been illumined, and he is safe at his destination. God's word, as a guiding light, is a lamp unto our feet, not a sun flooding a hemisphere. In the darkest night it will always show us the next step; then, when we have taken that, it will show us another; and thus on, till it brings us out into the full, clear sunlight of the coming day. We need to learn well the lesson of patience, if we would have God guide us. Many of us cannot wait for him, but insist on running on faster than he leads, and then we wonder why there is no light on the path, and we complain, and are discouraged because we stumble so often. If we stay back with the lantern, it will be all right with us in our journeying.

Distractions from Religious Thought

By Sidney Smith

The cry of a child, the fall of a book, the most trifling occurrence, is often sufficient to dissipate religious thought, and introduce a more willing train of ideas. A sparrow fluttering about the church is an antagonist which the most profound theologian in Europe is wholly unable to overcome.

The Roman Empire.

By A. T. Jones

(Concluded.)

THE ROMAN PROVINCES.

THE boundaries of Italy were the same as they now are, and were divided by Augustus into eleven regions.
"The European provinces of Rome were protected by the course of the Rhine and the Danube. The latter of those mighty streams, which rises at the distance of only thirty miles from the former, flows about thirteen hundred miles, for the most part to the southeast, collects the tribute of sixty navigable rivers, and is, at length, through six mouths, received into the Euxine [Black Sea], which appears scarcely equal to such an accession of waters. The provinces of the Danube soon acquired the general appellation of Illyricum, or the Illyrian frontier, and were esteemed the most warlike of the empire; but they deserve to be more particularly considered under the names of Rhætia, Noricum, Pannonia, Dalmatia, Dacia, Mæsia, Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece.
"The province of Rhætia, which soon extinguished the name of the Vindelicians, extended from the summit of the Alps to the banks of the Danube, from its source, as far as its conflux with the Inn. . . .
"The wide extent of territory which is included between the Inn, the Danube, and the Save,—Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, the Lower Hungary, and Sclavonia,—was known to the ancients under the names of Noricum and Pannonia. In their original state of independence, their fierce inhabitants were intimately connected. Under the Roman Government they were frequently united, and they still remain the patrimony of a single family. . . . It may not be improper to observe, that if we except Bohemia, Moravia, the northern skirts of Austria, and a part of Hungary, between the Teyss and the Danube, all the other dominions of the House of Austria were comprised within the limits of the Roman Empire.
"Dalmatia, to which the name of Illyricum more properly belonged, was a long, but narrow tract, between the Save and the Adriatic. . . .
"After the Danube had received the waters of the Teyss and the Save, it acquired, at least among the Greeks, the name of Ister. It formerly divided Mæsia and Dacia, the latter of which, as we have already seen, was a conquest of Trajan, and the only province beyond the river. If we inquire into the present state of those countries, we shall find that, on the left hand of the Danube, Temeswar and Transylvania have been annexed, after many revolutions, to the crown of Hungary; whilst the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia acknowledge the supremacy of the Ottoman Porte. On the right bank of the Danube, Mæsia, which, during the Middle Ages, was broken into the barbarian kingdoms of Servia and Bulgaria, is again united in Turkish slavery.
"The appellation of Roumelia, which is still bestowed by the Turks on the extensive countries of Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece, preserves the memory of their ancient state under the Roman Empire. In the time of the Antonines, the martial regions of Thrace, from the mountains of Hæmus and Rhodope to the Bosphorus and the Hellespont, had assumed the form of a province. . . . The kingdom of Macedonia, which, under the reign of Alexander, gave laws to Asia, derived more solid advantages from the policy of the two Philips; and with its dependencies of Epirus and Thessaly, extended from the Ægean to the Ionian Sea. When we reflect on the fame of Thebes and Argos, of Sparta and Athens, we can scarcely persuade ourselves that so many immortal republics of ancient Greece were lost in a single province of the Roman Empire, which, from the superior influence of the Achaean league, was usually denominated the province of Achaia.
"Such was the state of Europe under the Roman emperors. . . . From Cyrene [the twentieth degree east longitude] to the ocean, the coast of Africa extends above fifteen hundred miles; yet so closely is it pressed between the Mediterranean and the Sahara, or sandy desert, that its breadth seldom exceeds four-score or a hundred miles. The eastern division was considered by the Romans as the more peculiar and proper province of Africa. Till the arrival of the Phœnician colonies, that fertile country was inhabited by the Libyans, the most savage of mankind. Under the immediate jurisdiction of Carthage, it became the center of commerce and empire; but the republic of Carthage is now degenerated into the feeble and disorderly States of Tripoli and Tunis.
"The military government of Algiers oppresses the wide extent of Numidia, as it was once united under Massinissa and Jugurtha; but in the time of Augustus, the limits of Numidia were contracted; and at least two-thirds of the country acquiesced in the name of Mauritania, with the epithet of Cæsariensis. The genuine Mauritania, or country of the Moors, which, from the ancient city of Tingi, or Tangier, was distinguished by the appellation of Tingitana, is represented by the modern kingdom of Fez. Salle, on the ocean, long infamous for its piratical depredations, was noticed by the Romans as the extreme object of their power, and almost of their geography. A city of their foundation may still be discovered near Mequinez, the residence of the barbarian whom we condescend to style the emperor of Morocco; but it does not appear that his more southern dominions, Morocco itself and Segelmessa, were ever comprehended within the Roman province. . . .
"We may observe, that Africa is divided from Spain by a narrow strait of about twelve miles, through which the Atlantic flows into the Mediterranean. The columns of Hercules, so famous among the ancients, were two mountains which seemed to have been torn asunder by some convulsion of the elements; and at the foot of the European mountain the fortress of Gibraltar is now seated. The whole extent of the Mediterranean Sea, its coasts, and its islands, were comprised within the Roman dominion."—Decline and Fall, chap. 1, par. 28-33, 37, 38. See also Ginn and Heath's Classical Atlas, Map 12.
Of these provinces, Pannonia and all westward, and those named on the African coast, formed the territory proper of the fourth kingdom,—Rome. These, with the northwestern part of Illyricum, formed what is known in history as the Latin or Western Empire of Rome. And it is within the boundaries of the Western Empire that the ten kingdoms should be established.

A Short Catechism.

Did you ever see a counterfeit ten-dollar bill? Yes.
Why was it counterfeited? Because it was worth counterfeiting.
Was the ten-dollar bill to blame? No.
Did you ever see a scrap of brown paper counterfeited? No. Why? Because it was not worth counterfeiting.
Did you ever see a counterfeit Christian? Yes, lots of them. Why was the Christian counterfeited? Because he was worth counterfeiting. Was he to blame? No.
Did you ever see a counterfeit infidel? No; never. Why?
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