The trustees of the Nebraska public school, where the issue of reading the Bible in the school exercises was recently raised, are quoted as saying they will not obey the ruling of the State Supreme Court in the matter, which affirmed that the use of the Bible in the public schools was unconstitutional. This same class of persons, when the question of observing statutes for Sunday observance is raised, are usually heard denouncing as anarchy the idea that all law should not be rigidly enforced. There is a distinction between legal enactment and justice, and when the former is plainly against the latter, the enactment is of no binding force. The claims of justice can not be set aside by legislation. God's law is always just, being the product of omniscience, and all justice is embodied in the divine code. It is not anarchy to show one's allegiance to this higher code, even when it must be done in opposition to the enactments of men.
Superstition and Humbug
THE great intellectual enlightenment of the present age does not save it from being an age of abounding superstition and humbug. The New York Christian Advocate remarks upon the evidences of this which are apparent in that city. “If people were to form an idea of the religious and intellectual state of the city of New York by some of the advertisements for Sunday services,” it says, “they would imagine common sense to be at a discount, and humbug and folly at a premium.” The Advocate cites by way of illustration, “a few announcements of a recent Saturday,” thus:—
Mrs. —, a psychic teacher, will expound the religion of science; the soul’s immortality will be demonstrated through natural law, etherealization, materialization. . . . For those who do not like the above, this blasphemous advertisement had its attractions: “Christ Jesus (Manna Mysteria) now in the flesh will demonstrate personally. Angel of Light (Jennie) gives helpful messages from Summerland.” Very appropriately this performance is in Chimney Hall. Then there are a woman and a man who will furnish “materializations” and such “communion with departed friends” as demonstrates immortality. A woman, who calls herself a “phenomenal psychic,” promises to surpass all others. From first to last they are humbugs. . . . We mention these things simply to show that under the broad mantle of New World civilization the miserable superstitions of China, and, of the Egyptians of old, when spirits peeped and muttered, are burrowing like moles, loving darkness rather than light, but claiming to possess light and to give light.
How much response would there be to such advertisements if those to whom they are addressed would search the Scriptures and receive into their hearts the soul-stirring truths of divine revelation? Faith is the antidote, and the only antidote, for superstition and religious humbug; and in proportion as faith declines, these will flourish, notwithstanding all the progress that may be made in mere intellectual enlightenment.
MRS. E. G. WHITE
By Ellen G. White
Lessons From the Past—No. 2
MRS. E. G. WHITE
How Shall Our Youth Be Trained?
John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, received his early training from his parents. The greater portion of his life was spent in the wilderness, that he might not be influenced by beholding the lax piety of the priests and rabbis, or by learning their maxims and traditions, through which right principles were perverted and belittled. The religious teachers of the day had become so blind spiritually that they could scarcely recognize the virtues of heavenly origin. So long had they cherished feelings of pride, envy, and jealousy, that they interpreted the Old Testament Scriptures in such a manner as to destroy their true meaning.
It was John's choice to forego the enjoyments and luxuries of city life for the stern discipline of the wilderness. Here his surroundings were favorable to habits of simplicity and self-denial. Uninterrupted by the clamor of the world, he could here study the lessons of nature, of revelation, and of providence. The words of the angel to Zacharias had been often repeated to John by his God-fearing parents. From his childhood his mission had been kept before him, and he accepted the holy trust. To him the solitude of the desert was a welcome escape from society in which suspicion, unbelief, and impurity had become well-nigh all-pervading. He distrusted his own power to withstand temptation, and shrank from constant contact with sin, lest he should lose the sense of its exceeding sinfulness.
But the life of John was not spent in idleness, in ascetic gloom, or in selfish isolation. From time to time he went forth to mingle with men; and he was ever an interested observer of what was passing in the world. From his quiet retreat he watched the unfolding of events. With vision illuminated by the divine Spirit, he studied the characters of men, that he might understand how to reach their hearts with the message of heaven.
Christ lived the life of a genuine medical missionary. He desires us to study his life diligently, that we may learn to labor as he labored.
His mother was his first teacher. From her lips, and from the scrolls of the prophets, he learned of heavenly things. He lived in a peasant's home, and faithfully and cheerfully he acted his part in bearing the burdens of the household. He had been the Commander of heaven, and angels had delighted to fulfil his word; now he was a willing servant, a loving, obedient son. He learned a trade, and with his own hands worked in a carpenter's shop with Joseph. In the simple garb of a common laborer he walked the streets of the little town, going to and returning from his humble work.
With the people of that age, the value of things was determined by outward show. As religion had declined in power, it had increased in pomp. The educators of the time sought to command respect by display and ostentation. To all this the life of Jesus presented a marked contrast. His life demonstrated the worthlessness of those things that men regarded as life's greatest essentials. The schools of his time, with their magnifying of things small and their belittling of things great, he did not seek. His education was gained directly from heaven-appointed sources; from useful work, from the study of the Scriptures and of nature, and from the experiences of life,—God's lesson books, full of instruction to all who bring to them the willing hand, the seeing eye, and the understanding heart.
“The child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.”
Thus prepared, he went forth to his mission, in every moment of his contact with men exerting upon them an influence to bless, a power to transform, such as the world had never witnessed.
Satan works in every possible way to ensnare souls. As I consider the state of things in Battle Creek, I tremble for our youth who go there. The light given me by the Lord—that our youth should not collect in Battle Creek to receive their education—has in no particular been changed. The fact that the Sanitarium has been rebuilt does not change the light. That which in the past has made Battle Creek a place unsuitable for our youth, makes it unsuitable to-day, as far as influence is concerned.
When the call came to move out of Battle Creek, the plea was, “We are here, and all settled. It would be an impossibility to move without enormous expense.”
The Lord permitted fire to consume the principal buildings of the Review and Herald and the Sanitarium, and thus removed the greatest objection raised to moving out of Battle Creek. It was his design, not that one large sanitarium should be rebuilt, but that plants should be made in several places. These smaller sanitariums should have been established where they could have the benefit and advantage of land for agricultural purposes. It is God's plan that agriculture shall be carried on in connection with our sanitariums and schools. Our youth need the education to be gained from this kind of work. It is well, and more than well,—it is essential,—that efforts be made to carry out the Lord's plan in this respect.
But a larger sanitarium building, different in design, yet capable of accommodating as many patients, was erected on the same site as the old building. Since the opening of this institution a very large number of people have come to it. Some of these are patients, but some are not really sick, but, like tourists, are seeking for rest and pleasure. The large number at the Sanitarium is no evidence that it is the will of God that such a condition of things should be. Our sanitariums were not designed to be boarding places for the rich people of the world.
The care of the large number of guests at the Sanitarium requires a large number of helpers, and those in charge of our churches have been asked to send in the names of the most promising young men and young women in the church, that these youth may be communicated with by the managers of the Sanitarium, and the most efficient invited to come to the Sanitarium to take the nurses' course.
But shall we encourage our most promising young men and young women to go to Battle Creek, to obtain their training for service where attendance at entertainments, indulgence in worldly dress, and many other evils will tempt them to go astray? The Lord has revealed to me some of the dangers that our youth will meet by evil associations. Many of the wealthy, worldly men and women who patronize the Sanitarium will be a source of temptation to the helpers in this institution. Some of these helpers will become the favorites of wealthy worldlings, and will be offered alluring inducements to enter their employ. Through the silent influence of the worldly display of some of the patrons who for a time have stayed at the Sanitarium, the enemy has already been able to sow tares in the hearts of many of our young men and young women. This is the way that Satan is working.
To fathers and mothers I would say, Be careful what moves you make. Place not your children under the seductive influences and the subtle temptations that they would have to meet were they to go to Battle Creek. It is not God's design that our youth shall be called to this place, to associate with worldly people of all grades, high and low.9
Because the Sanitarium is where it should not be, shall the word of the Lord regarding the education of our youth be of no account? Shall we allow the most intelligent of our youth in the churches throughout our conferences to be called to Battle Creek, to become servants to worldlings, some of them to be robbed of their simplicity by being brought in contact with men and women who have not the fear of God in their hearts? Shall those in charge of our conferences allow our youth who in the schools for Bible workers could be fitted for the Lord's service, to be drawn to a place from which for years the Lord has been calling upon his people to move?
We desire that our youth shall be so trained that they shall exert a saving influence in our churches, by working for greater unity and deeper piety. Human minds may not see the necessity for the call to families to leave Battle Creek, and settle in places where they can do medical missionary evangelistic work. But the Lord has spoken. Shall we question his word?
The Family Firm
The truth, in all its important bearings, needs to have a much deeper hold upon all who have to do with the training of our youth. Parents are to work skilfully for their own children, helping them while they are still in the home to gain a fitness to work as missionaries for Christ when they leave the home. The children are to be taught to be faithful in labor. They are to learn to relieve the weary mother, sharing her burdens. The older children may greatly assist her by helping to care for the little ones; and the younger ones may learn to perform many of the simple duties of the home.
Young men and young women should regard a training in home duties as a most important part of their education. The family firm is a sacred, social society, in which each member is to act a part, each helping the other. The work of the household is to move smoothly, like the different parts of well-regulated machinery. The mother should be relieved of the burdens that the sons and daughters can take upon themselves.
How important that fathers and mothers should give their children, from their very babyhood, the right instruction. They are to teach them to obey the command, “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” And the children, as they grow in years, are to appreciate the care that their parents have given them. They are to find their greatest pleasure in helping father and mother.
Fathers and mothers should do all in their power to carry forward the work of the home in the right way. The law of God, with its holy principles and solemn injunctions, is ever to bear rule. The principles of the Bible are to be taught and practised. The parents are to teach their children lessons from this Holy Book, making these lessons so simple that they will readily be understood.
The more closely the members of the family are united in their work in the home, the more uplifting and helpful will be the influence that father and mother and sons and daughters will exert outside the home.
It is a serious matter to send children away from home, thus depriving them of the care of their parents. It is of the greatest importance that church schools shall be established, to which the children may be sent, and still be under the watchcare of their mothers, and have opportunity to practise the lessons of helpfulness that it is God's design they shall learn in the home.
In our larger schools provision should also be made for the education of younger children. This work is to be managed wisely, in connection with the training of more advanced students. The older students should be encouraged to take part in teaching these lower classes.
Much more can be done to save and educate the children of those who at present can not get away from the cities. This is a matter worthy of our best efforts. Church schools are to be established for the children in the cities, and in connection with these schools provision is to be made for the teaching of higher studies, where these are called for. These schools can be managed in such a way, part joining to part, that they will be a complete whole.
Let us study the way of the Lord diligently, that we may discern his methods and plans. His wisdom is far reaching.
He Leads Us On
By Shadow of the Rock
He leads us on
By paths we did not know,
Upward he leads us, though our steps be slow,
Though oft we faint and falter on the way,
Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day,
Yet, when the clouds are gone,
We know he leads us on.
He leads us on
Through all the unquiet years;
Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts, and fears,
He guides our steps. Through all the tangled maze
Of sin, of sorrow, and o’erclouded days
We know his will is done;
And still he leads us on.
And he, at last,
After the weary strife—
After the restless fever we call life—
After the dreariness, the aching pain,
The wayward struggles which have proved in vain—
After our toils are past—
Will give us rest at last.
— Shadow of the Rock.
What Ought Israel to Do at This Time?
By A. T. ROBINSON
A. T. ROBINSON
“And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” 1 Chron. 12: 32.
The only advantage in Israel’s having an understanding of the time, lies in the fact that it enables her to know what Israel ought to do. The only advantage in knowing what Israel ought to do, is in doing what Israel ought to do. It was “that servant, which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself,” who was adjudged worthy of many stripes. Our responsibility is measured by our privileges. To whom much has been given, of him shall much be required.
At different times in the history of the world the Lord has sent special messages of truth to the world. The apostle speaks of such movements, as “the present truth.” Let us notice some of the characteristics of the “present truth” for any given time:—
(1) While it continues to be present truth, it is always the most unpopular thing in the world; (2) after it ceases to be present truth, and becomes a historical truth, it always becomes popular; (3) so long as it is present truth, the eternal destiny of every soul in the world is bound up in his acceptance or rejection of it; (4) the people raised up to proclaim a message of present truth will give that message with no uncertain sound, and with absolute knowledge that it is the message for the hour.
Noah was unpopular, and preached an unpopular message. In after generations he was universally believed to have been a man of God, raised up to give the message of salvation to the generation in which he lived. He knew he was giving such a message to the world. John the Baptist was sent to herald a message to prepare the way for the first advent of the Saviour. He knew he had a message based upon the prophetic word. “As saith the prophet Esaias,” was his authority to those who came to inquire concerning his claim to be giving a message for his time.
The religious teachers of John’s time, and of the time of Christ, while believing in Noah’s message, in Abraham, Moses, and all the prophets, denounced John as a fanatic, and Christ as a devil. The religious teachers of our time, while believing in all special messages of the past, treat as fanatics and dangerous teachers those who are giving the special message for our time.
Since 1844 the saving truth for the world has been, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.” Following this is the most solemn message of warning that has ever sounded in the ears of humanity, against those who worship the beast and his image. Having understanding of the time, knowing that the judgments of God, in the seven last plagues, are about to fall upon the men and women now living upon the earth, what ought Israel to do in such a time as this? Ought she not to arise in the name and strength of Israel’s God, and give this message to all the world?
“Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house to lie waste?” Is it time for men who believe such a message as this to have their means invested in bank-stock or tied up in other worldly enterprises, while our missionaries in foreign lands are crippled for the necessary means to carry forward their work; while the Mission Board is unable to respond to their calls for the money needed to support themselves and their families? How much will bank-stock or property of any kind be worth during the last year of probation? — It will be of no value outside the use that can be made of it to help bring lost souls into the ark of safety. How much will it be worth during the last month? the last week? the last day?
In “Early Writings” a time is spoken of when there will be a most bitter wailing because, when means was called for, it was withheld. To me it is an alarming fact that so many of our people seem to be clinging to their property with what seems like an almost death-like grasp. Will not the time come when there will be a letting go, a cutting down, a lessening of the hold upon this poor old earth, which is soon to reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man? Has not the time come when every believer in10this message should invest his surplus means in its proclamation? We often wonder and question why this work does not go forward with the power spoken of in the Word of God. When the cords that bind the interests of God’s people to this earth are severed, we shall see the most glorious triumph in this cause that has ever been witnessed since this old earth fell beneath the dark shadow of sin. May God hasten the glad day.
The Gift of Giving
By H. M. Mitchell
H. M. MITCHELL
“INASMUCH as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
“I gave, I gave my life for thee, What hast thou giv'n for me?”
“O, ’twas love, ’twas wondrous love, the love of God for me; It brought my Saviour from above to die on Calvary.”
As I think of the sentiments expressed in these quotations, and look over my own experience, I can only wonder at the little I have done for my Saviour.
Then my mind turns to the statement by Paul in 2 Corinthians 8, where he accounts for the liberality of the Macedonian brethren by saying that they “first gave their own selves to the Lord.”
My dear brethren and sisters, let this be our keynote in the future; and as our hearts become filled with his abiding presence, our souls will respond with the material assistance that is now so much needed to do “it unto one of the least of these my brethren.”
If my brethren all over the field could witness the offerings coming in for nearly three years, as I have done while acting as treasurer of the General Conference and Mission Board, and read the letters from God's poor (but rich in faith), in response to the many appeals for help, some giving their last cent, others dividing a pittance in order to help, sending the same with praises and thanksgiving, and all wishing they could do more, I am sure hearts would be melted to do more than has ever been done in the past.
Brethren, let us seek the Lord and draw nigh to him by sacrifice, and God's sweet Spirit will be such a blessing as we have never enjoyed.
If we study the love of God for us, and contemplate his long-suffering to usward, that it is for our salvation, we shall certainly give ourselves to him.
May the Lord help us to hasten his soon coming.
MRS. L. D. AVERY-STUTTLE
By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle
Peace
MRS. L. D. AVERY-STUTTLE
I LONGED for Peace; in vain I cried,
In vain I sought her far and wide,
In vain I toiled and pled forlorn,
No peace within my soul was born.
“Where art thou, Peace?” I cried once more;
When lo! a form stood at my door,
His look was haughty, proud, and high.
Like diamonds shone his glittering eye,
A wreath of laurels crowned his brow.
“Pray tell me, friend, whence comest thou!”
Who art thou, pray? and what thy name?”
Then loud the ringing answer came:
“Dost thou not know me? I am Fame!
And I am come to bide with thee;
Make room for Fame! make room for me!”
Then quick methought I heard a voice:
“Be wise, O mortal, in thy choice;
This guest comes not thy soul to bless,
Fame brings not peace nor happiness.”
But all my soul cried out for Fame—
The world's applause — an honored name.
“Surely,” I said, “Fame bringeth Peace,
Comfort and joy and happiness.”
I ope'd the door to let him in,
When, close beside him followed Sin;
So cunningly she urged her way,
I scarcely dared to bid her nay.
“Ah, well, some day I'll ope my door,
And banish Sin forevermore.”
’Tis thus I sought my soul to free,
And bring sweet Peace to bide with me.
In vain, in vain; day followed day,
And still sweet Peace seemed far away.
Again a stranger sought my door;
His form was bent, his dress was poor,
And in his arms a cross he bore.
His name was Duty; but his face
Beamed with a tender smile of grace.
“Come in!” I cried, “nor e’er depart;”
The while I took him to my heart.
Deep in his eyes a love-light shone;
And ah, he came not in alone,—
A calm, sweet Presence filled my breast,
A holy joy, a heavenly rest.
The turmoil and the cares were past,
And blessed Peace was mine at last.
A Time for Earnest Work
By E. T. RUSSELL
E. T. RUSSELL
The great day of God is nigh and hasteth greatly. We are on the eve of the time of trouble spoken of by Daniel, “such as never was since there was a nation.” This is evident from the fact that the nations are fast preparing for that conflict termed “Armageddon.” The controversy between the rich and the poor is becoming more and more bitter year by year, and it seems only a question of a short time before they will be engaged in a bloody struggle. Satan is preparing all his forces. He is working in the ranks of this people, introducing his doctrines and sophistries to divert the minds of this people from the truth.
He is also working among the great religious bodies in Christendom, and everything seems to indicate that the different denominations will be ready for a union in the near future on principles that will be contrary to the law of God, such a union as will tend to bring this people into distressing circumstances.
While Satan is so actively engaged in marshaling his forces, a divine energy ought to rest upon this people which will nerve them for the conflict, and strengthen them so that they will not rest satisfied until their efforts to place the light of present truth before the world shall be crowned with final victory.
The Bible as a Traveling Companion
“WHEN one makes a traveling companion of his Bible, as the Ethiopian did, God will have his Philip near by to aid him in the interpretation.”
John the Baptist Confronts Herod
“OUT of the solitudes of the wilderness came John the Baptist to confront King Herod on his throne. When the spirit of man has been in training with God, there is no height of evil that he is not authorized to assault.”
No More Delay
By H. F. PHELPS
H. F. PHELPS
I CAN truly say, with Paul, “Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” And by this love I still love the cause of God, and the dear old family paper, the REVIEW. It still stands upon the watch-tower, and sends forth the true advent ring of the advent message.
True, we have been looking for the coming of the Lord for more than fifty years; but just as true is it that that long-expected event is more than fifty years nearer than when we first believed; and that word, “There shall be delay no longer,” revives the soul. And the wide-open doors for gospel work, with many pleas, “Come over and help us,” together with the many, many calls for consecrated men and consecrated means, are all added evidences that the promise of no more delay is true. “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”
Unbelief may look at the unentered fields and the millions yet unwarned, and comparing the vastness of the work to be performed before the Lord comes, with the more than fifty years already past since this work began, conclude that his coming is yet a long way off. But this is the spirit with which the ten spies viewed the work before the people of God in their time. In reply my faith says that my Lord is not straitened for means to fulfil his word, and to finish his work as appointed. The word of the Lord has gone forth; and as truly as he has spoken, there will be no more delay. For more than half a century we have been in the “finishing” of the “mystery of God,” the mystery of the gospel, and very soon it will be said, “It is done.” The work will be “finished,” “cut short in righteousness.” And he is able to do it. Of course, we are not able; but our God is able. And, thanks to his name, he will accept our hands, our feet, and our hearts to do his work, and our mouths to proclaim his word to the ends of the earth. But if we hold our peace at this time, the very rocks will cry out; for the time is even now here when a mighty work will be performed in a very short time. And our God will speed the work.
What We Give
“It is not what we get, but give, That buys us place in worlds of bliss; And angels never yet have asked What wealth of goods was left in this.”
Health and Service
By Frederick M. Rossiter
FREDERICK M. ROSSITER, M. D.
In these days of business activity and competition health has acquired a commercial value. It is recognized as an essential factor to success in any enterprise, whether it be strictly legitimate or not. The man who has health can attend to his business, and ever be ready to profit by the changes in the market; whereas another, because of physical exhaustion, is compelled to spend weeks or months in sanitariums, or traveling to regain his health. To men responsible for large business interests this means great financial loss. Most of the failures in business and in professional life are due to poor health.
During the Civil War and during the wars of the last few years the efficiency of armies was greatly reduced by the large number of sick soldiers. There have been times when an army could not march because of the large number on the sick list. It is perfectly evident that for the time being a sick soldier is worse than no soldier at all; for the army is not only deprived of his service, but some one must be detailed to care for him, thus decreasing the number of fighting men, increasing the expense, and wasting much valuable time.
A campaign is on. A forward movement is to be made. The soldiers of the cross are to march, fight, and win a victory. While the victory is of the Lord, yet it is clear that human instrumentality must be used in this warfare.
Health is as essential to success in the Lord's work as in any selfish enterprise. Much of the discouragement among Christians, and most of the failures, result from sickness and poor health, or from temporary violations of physical laws. The man who eats lobster salad or fried cheese late at night is almost sure to have a despondent view of life the next morning. Lesser infractions of the laws of health are attended with corresponding mental changes, and hence influence the spiritual life.
There is a direct relation between health and efficiency in any service. With right motives and correct principles, abounding health and physical energy enable one to take hold of spiritual matters with zeal and enthusiasm. Our attitude toward the Lord's work is determined largely by our physical condition. A feeling of physical well-being enables one to see truth more clearly, to exercise more faith, and to triumph over difficulties more easily. In all this no man can take credit to himself; for health and healing come from the Lord.
God has called his people to an exalted service; and that their service may be efficient, he has given them exalted principles of truth, among which are the health principles. By this means every individual is to be thoroughly furnished unto all good works, and the ‘whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
The living—not the dead—shall praise the Lord. The healthy and strong can render the most effectual service in this message; hence the ambition of all should be to be healthy and strong. Every worker that ‘gets sick’ interferes with the progress of the cause where he is located. He may have a blessing in his sickness, but he can have a greater one in health, and do more to help others. Estimating that five dollars is spent each year for each of seventy-five thousand Adventists for medicine, doctors’ bills, nursing, and treatment at sanitariums, which is no doubt a small average, we have the large sum of three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. This is practically all lost to the cause. Then, because of sickness of adults or children, say one day a year, valued at one dollar, is lost to each of seventy-five thousand persons, we have a sum of seventy-five thousand dollars, making, altogether, four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This would send seven hundred and fifty missionaries abroad, with a salary of six hundred dollars a year each.
All sickness can not be prevented, but most of it can be. It is not at all desirable that one should be thinking about his health all the time, any more than that he should be thinking about his character. The adoption of correct principles will take care of both. There is no more reason for worrying about the health than for worrying about the character. If the health should be guarded as sacredly as the character, why should one hazard the health any more than he would jeopardize his good name?
The application of this principle will prevent much sickness and indisposition, which hinder one from giving his best service to this cause. To be sanctified wholly, soul, spirit, and body, means to be completely set apart for service. By overwork, neglect of sleep, errors in diet, insufficient outdoor exercise, and many other violations of nature's laws, we fail of sacredly guarding the health. Every day spent in bed because of preventable illness is both time and money lost to the cause of truth. We are also assailed by doubt, discouragement, and evil surmising. Self-control is in a measure lost; everything seems to go wrong; we look at matters through smoked glasses; it is easy to criticize and find fault; nothing is just right; we are either ‘sharp or flat,’ making a discord that is something terrible. Mistakes are made, memory is poor, and there are serious errors in judgment.
The exhortation to present our ‘bodies a living sacrifice,’ in order to render an acceptable and reasonable service, was never more urgent. And the most acceptable service is that which is rendered in health.
The Nervous Temperament
A CHILD born with a nervous constitution is to be pitied or envied according as he has parents who do or do not know how to treat him. Character is made or marred, even more than we are wont to believe, by the training which the child receives, and the future of no child is more absolutely in the keeping of its father and mother than is that of the nervous child. By injudicious treatment such a child may be made to grow up a physical and moral wreck, at odds with all the world, while under wise management it may develop into one of the highest types of lovable man or woman—gentle, affectionate, sensitive, intellectual, and dependable.
The nervous child is often difficult to manage, especially if the mother is impatient with its despondency or its irritability. Scoldings only increase the tension of its nervous system, and more severe punishment, which the phlegmatic child takes with scarce a whimper and to12its betterment, is often cruel in the extreme.
There are two types of nervous children—the active child, always on the go, inquisitive and acquisitive, but delicate as the mimosa leaf, shrinking back into itself at the first repulse or harsh word; and the pale, quiet, sensitive child, intelligent and thoughtful, but retiring. The child of the first type develops into the inventor, the active philanthropist, the promoter, the schemer, the adventurer, or the leader of criminals, according as his training has been wise or foolish. The child of the second type becomes the philosopher, the thinker, the man of letters, the poet, or the misanthrope, the sour recluse, and the plotter against society and government.
One great mistake in training a nervous child is to try to strengthen the nerves by opposition. A nervous child must be guided, not driven; if afraid of the dark, it must not be forced to sleep in a closed room without a glimmer of light. It should not be laughed at for its natural timidity, but should be gently convinced by argument of the groundlessness of its fears. At the same time its physical constitution should receive careful attention. Good, digestible food, an open-air life, avoidance of long hours of study, frequent changes of air and scenes, are all not only serviceable, but, one might say, indispensable in the transformation of the child of nervous disposition into the well-poised man or woman. —Youth’s Companion.
Tell Her So!
AMID the cares of married life,
In spite of toil and business strife,
If you value your sweet wife,
Tell her so!
Prove to her you don't forget
The bond to which the seal is set;
She's of life's sweets the sweetest yet—
Tell her so!
When days are dark and deeply blue,
She has her troubles, same as you;
Show her that your love is true—
Tell her so!
There was a time you thought it bliss
To get the favor of one kiss;
A dozen now won't come amiss—
Tell her so!
Your love for her is no mistake—
You feel it, dreaming or awake—
Don't conceal it! For her sake,
Tell her so!
Don't act, if she has passed her prime,
As though to please her were a crime;
If e'er you loved her, now's the time—
Tell her so!
She'll return, for each caress,
An hundredfold of tenderness!
Hearts like hers were made to bless!
Tell her so!
You are hers, and hers alone;
Well you know she's all your own;
Don't wait to “carve it ’on a stone”—
Tell her so!
Never let her heart grow cold—
Richer beauties will unfold;
She is worth her weight in gold!
Tell her so!
—Selected.
Vegetarianism and Vigor
By Margaret Evans
MARGARET EVANS, M. D.
FLESH food is not necessary to the maintenance of strength and vigor. Such foods as grains, peas, beans, lentils, and nuts are far more nutritious, and contain the nourishment necessary to meet all the requirements of the human system. Many of the grandest men of the past and present were, or are, vegetarians. The hardest work of the world is done by those who seldom taste meat. The prodigious feats of strength performed by vegetarians in all parts of the earth are splendid testimonies to the value of a non-flesh diet. The athletes of ancient Greece in her most glorious days, ate no meat, but lived on a diet of fruits and grains. While her gladiators were fed upon barley and other grains, together with fruit, they were capable of endurance which would stagger a flesh-eating athlete, but when, in later ages, they were given a flesh diet, they became dull and stupid, partaking of the characteristics of carnivorous animals to such an extent that Diogenes declared them to be wholly formed of “flesh of swine and oxen.” The abstemious Spartans, who lived on bread and fruit during the height of their prosperity, show plainly the advantages to be gained by a vegetarian diet.
According to Herodotus “the men who performed the prodigious task of building the pyramids were fed upon onions, garlic, and lentils.” The Hindu runners, who live upon rice, think nothing of covering a hundred miles a day.
The sturdy Turkish porters, who subsist principally upon black bread, watermelons, and figs, are splendid testimonies to the value of a vegetarian diet. The Mexican Indian will travel for many days on a small bag of parched wheat.
De Lesseps, the constructor of the Suez Canal, many years before his death became an earnest advocate of vegetarianism, because, as he publicly stated, he never would have been able to construct the canal “without the aid of the date- and barley-eating Arabs.” The Roman soldier, while conquering the world, lived upon a coarse bread made from grains pounded in a mortar, to which was added honey, cheese, olive-oil, and fruit.
Meat is so scarce in Bolivia that the Indians are practically vegetarians, yet their power of endurance is wonderful. Consumption is unknown, and the sturdiest women of the world are probably found in that country. The rubber-gum gatherers of South America never taste flesh. Bananas form their staple dietary, yet they carry loads of one hundred and fifty pounds or more over rough mountain trails and through deep, ragged ravines. The Rio de Janeiro porters, also vegetarians, often carry weights of from four hundred to six hundred pounds over great distances. The porters of Hongkong, the carriers of Athens, Constantinople, and Smyrna, show us convincingly that vegetarianism and vigor go hand in hand.
About one fifth of the population of the globe are vegetarians from religious scruples, while three fourths of the remainder eat very little meat, except probably on feast days, because they are unable to procure it, yet they are vigorous, active, healthy, and do a vast amount of hard work. The listless club-lounger, the indolent healthy man, the people who board at American hotels, are the ones who imagine they can not keep up their vitality without an abundance of meat.