Earlier text: DUTY OF PARENTS TO THEIR CHILDRENMATHEMATICS.— IV.
By J. H. Haughey
The progress of knowledge is from the known to the unknown, from the concrete to the abstract, from the unit to the universal; but just as one should not lose sight of the known in his search after that of which he is as yet ignorant, or of the one in his knowledge of the many, just so he should not permit the relation between the abstract and the concrete, in passing from the one to the other, entirely to leave the mind. There is always an objective point toward which the mind is moving in its search after truth; and this should be clearly apprehended in its relations to the physical, mental, or moral conditions imposed. More than this, not merely the knowledge, but the utility of the knowledge, to be gained, should form the constant incentive in its pursuit. The small as well as the large child naturally asks why as well as what and how; and he is not satisfied to receive for a reply any mere hollow, impractical, empty thing. The right answer to this question arouses the desire to know; and desire to know is a necessary condition to knowing. Truth is revealed to those who long for it. Indeed, knowledge and wisdom, repentance and righteousness, are given only to those who hunger and thirst for them. But what one longs for, he will also seek after; so the Lord himself says, “Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” The first and continuous effort, therefore, of every successful teacher is to arouse and sustain the interest of the pupil in the subject taught by directing the mind toward some good to be obtained as the result of the intellectual efforts made.152 Mystery, or the fact of one's ignorance, or of a truth's being, to the student, in the regions of the unknown, also acts as a powerful incentive to some minds, towards a desire for knowledge. But even here the essence of goodness must be seen to permeate the mystery, or the result will be a vain philosophy growing out of mere curiosity or vague imagination. It is because the “mystery of godliness” is the gospel of salvation, that men are attracted to its study, and that angels desire to look into it. It is seeing the infinite value of the soul in the light of Calvary that expands and enlarges the mind's powers to grasp truth to an extent so exceedingly beyond that derived from the solution, or attempted solution, of any other problem. Yet the correspondence between the laws of creation and the laws of redemption are such as to lead the mind step by step into a clearer conception of this great truth. He who studies mathematics, therefore, or any other science, only in the abstract, as pure reason, and merely for the intellectual benefit to be obtained from wrestling with difficult problems, no matter how complex, can as yet hardly be said to have taken the first step in the divine progress of what he may be prone even to consider his favorite science. Scientists and educators are advocating and urging more and more that theory and practice should go hand in hand in the teaching of the higher mathematics as well as in the teaching of arithmetic. The well-known astronomer, R. A. Procter, in his little work on the calculus, gives a very suggestive title: “Easy Lessons in the Differential Calculus: Indicating from the outset the Utility of the Processes called Differentiation and Integration.” And in the preface, speaking of the time after he left college, he adds, “What I have had occasion to study since, respecting the differential calculus, the calculus of variations, and higher matter, I have dealt with as occasion required.—the only really effective way of studying mathematics.” Another writer, Truman H. Safford, Professor of Astronomy in Williams College, in his brief work on mathematical teaching, says: “Just so far as the teaching [of arithmetic] is based upon the concrete, so far is it profitable; but when the book-makers begin to make it too abstract, as they very often do, it becomes a torture to both teacher and learners, or, at best, a branch of imaginary knowledge unconnected with real life.” Again, on another page he says: “Now, in arithmetic, throughout, time must be taken away from riddles, puzzles, operations with enormous numbers, long sums on the slate or blackboard, and given to solid work in the elements of numbers, especially to mental work, to extemporalia, to practical applications of arithmetic which really mean something.” And still again in the closing paragraph we read with respect to all the mathematics: “Much of what has been taught in our schools must and will be dropped as artificial and ugly, to be replaced by that which is natural, beautiful, and useful.” Now from what has been said in this article it is not intended to convey the idea that every problem or theorem has an immediate or direct application to some practical law or relation between man and nature, man and man, or man and God. It may constitute only an intermediate step in the solution or demonstration of a more general problem or theorem. For instance, in the study of algebra, every problem solved becomes a general formula, or rule, for the easy and rapid solution of every other problem of its kind. Thus problems are universalized and classified into distinct species, which may be recognized just as readily as those of the plant and animal creations. Again, in geometry, that useful and necessary truth enunciated in the Pythagorean proposition, and so familiar to every carpenter in its practical application, is reached in our elementary works on geometry through the demonstration of twelve other propositions, as is determined by tracing the process of reasoning back to the fundamental axioms and definitions. It has been the writer's privilege to examine153upwards of thirty different demonstrations of this proposition, some of which are very simple and easy. This illustrates that revelations of truth should never be restricted to one process for all persons. But the object of this brief article is to call attention to the importance of not divorcing theory and practice in the study of mathematics. Where shall practical problems be found? Search your works on arithmetic and bookkeeping: look in your physiology, your botany, your geography; consult your physics, chemistry, and astronomy; look in your Bible for examples in chronology, history, and prophecy; study the measurements in connection with the tabernacle, the ark of the testimony, and the altars; the temple of Solomon and its courts; the New Jerusalem and its walls. Then consult the carpenter, the farmer, the orchardist, the gardener, the merchant, the minister, the school-teacher, or any other man in any other legitimate profession or business. Draw them out. They all have something for you. THE DAY IS DONE.
By Henry W. Longfellow
The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight. Come read to me some poem,
Some simple and heart-felt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day. Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time. For like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life's endless toil and endeavor,
And to-night I long for rest. Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from the heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer
Or tears from the eyelids start;
Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies. Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer. Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice. And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away. We need, each and all, to be needed.
To feel we have something to give
Toward soothing the moan of earth's hunger.
And we know that then only we live,
When we feed one another, as we have been fed
From the hand that gives body and spirit their bread.
— Lucy Larcom. The churches are calling for educated, well-trained teachers. The Battle Creek Summer School will give the most practical instruction in the principles and methods of Christian education. The study of man's theory and philosophy is useless, but there is a divine philosophy which must be learned. Students attending the Summer School will have the privilege of attending the Teachers' Institute, which will afford an unusual opportunity of mingling with teachers and workers of experience, and participating in the discussion of questions of vital interest to educators. LAST fall one young man left the Summer School, returning to his native State in the interest of church schools. He visited the camp-meetings, held special services, and conducted lessons on Christian education in various parts of the State. As a result, there are now in that State, which had before given practically no thought to the subject of education for the children, three schools, several churches awaiting teachers this fall, a deep interest in the work on the part of conference workers, and several young people awaiting the opening of the Summer School to receive the necessary preparation to open church schools. The Institute will be a gathering of workers. It opens June 20, and at the end of three weeks it is hoped to send out, not one young man to canvass one State, but a number of young people who are strong and well grounded in the truths of Christian education, to visit several States. The conference presidents of various States are already asking for such workers. Workers must develop rapidly. Those who have had experience in the school-room the past year will, if they have proved faithful, find broader fields of usefulness. “I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” The United States wishes to Americanize the Cubans, and it has been decided that the quickest and surest way to do so is to work through the schools. The plan is said to have originated with Alexis E. Frye, the superintendent of the Havana schools. Mr. Frye was a former student of Harvard, and has been making arrangements for a thousand or more Cuban teachers to take a course in the Harvard Summer School. “President Eliot was communicated with,” says the editor of the Normal Instructor, “and he immediately notified Superintendent Frye that the Summer School would receive all the Cuban teachers that it might be considered advisable to send, with no charge for tuition. Other expenses will be charged against the Cuban school fund.” The editor comments as follows: “The broadening and deepening of the minds of the teachers which will follow this experience must have a tremendous influence on Cuba’s school children, and will do more to make the inhabitants of every Cuban hamlet acquainted with the United States and its people than anything else short of sending all the children themselves here. But the projectors of this really notable scheme should keep in mind that it is the elementary schools and their pupils that are to be reached, and that too much ‘junket’ and ‘university’ might not give the most practical benefit.” Is there not danger that the children of the world will prove themselves wiser in their generations than the Christians? When American ideas are sought for in Cuba, school teachers are sent to America to imbibe our customs, so that they can give them to the Cuban children. Do Christian parents manifest the same anxiety that their children shall be trained in Christian principles? Again, our churches have been told repeatedly that young people should be sent to our training-schools to receive a preparation to work. Are they to-day selecting young people who are competent to teach, and giving them the necessary training in the principles of Christian education? If not, why not? WHO SHOULD TEACH THE CHURCH SCHOOL?
THIS is a serious question. "Let the very best talent that can be secured be selected for these schools. No cheap cast of mind should be placed in our church schools. The very best is required for educating and moulding the human mind." Consecrated ability is the qualification for the church school. Can the public school teacher do the work? If you desire a public school, of course select a public school teacher; but if you desire a Christian school, the teacher needs a thorough understanding of the principles of Christian education, and the methods to be followed in the church school. Many make a mistake by supposing that a church school differs from a public school only in the fact that the former is taught by a Christian who believes in introducing some Bible study. This idea is far from right. Christian education is a system separate and distinct from popular education, and is as different from it as light is from darkness. Christian education is a spiritual education; its first, last, and only object is to develop the inner nature. Popular education appeals to the physical and mental, but can not approach the spiritual, for "spiritual things are spiritually discerned." The teacher chosen of God must, then, sit at the Master's feet, and learn of him. Having access to the fountain of living water, he refreshes the souls of the pupils from the same source. The Word of God should be made the basis of all instruction in the common branches and the sciences. Teachers need to study these things. If the physician needs a special education to treat the body, how much more does the teacher need a course of training. If you are called to teach, seek now the necessary preparation. If you, as a church are in search of a teacher, demand one educated in the principles of church school work. ORGANIZING A CHURCH SCHOOL.
By M. B. D.
The church at Wolf Lake, Ind., was in need of a school. It had needed a school for over a year. In fact, last fall it was thought that the children would have the privilege of obtaining a Christian education, but for various reasons most of them returned to the public school, and only a family school was conducted near Wolf Lake. This spring it was determined to begin work for the fall school in good season. Meetings were held, and the principles of education studied. Beginning with Moses and the prophets, as did the Saviour when talking with the disciples on the way to Emmaus, the history of God's people was found to lie wrapped in the bundle of life with Christian education. The words found in I Chron. 22 were made the basis of operation: “Be strong and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.” “Arise therefore, and be doing.” “Arise therefore, and build.” There was a church; there were children; a school building was needed. “Arise therefore and build.” But money was scarce, and the undertaking seemed too great. The word of the Lord is, “Arise and be doing.” While on bended knees the voice of God was heard telling each his duty. The pledges began to come in. Two housewives gave the proceeds from their chickens for the summer; another, the proceeds from her cucumbers. One man living in town gave all he could make from one-half acre of land planted to potatoes; another gave a cash donation of fifty dollars for the building, and pledged his second tithe for the support of the teacher. There were a number of pledges from five to ten dollars, and work enough to put up the building. There were carpenters, a brick layer, and a painter, and each offered to do his part. At the one meeting $190, besides the work, was pledged, and others promised help without stating the amount. The most encouraging feature was the children's pledge, amounting to $16. Six or eight of the little people, ranging in age from eight to ten years, were offered work on the farm by Brother Crandall. With the assurance of work they donated as they desired for their next year's school, with the result as stated. Every church where there are children should have a school. How much can be earned by the children alone, if the summer months are rightly employed? M. B. D. DAY BY DAY.
By Edith M. Thomas
Day by day the year unfolds
All its treasure chamber holds;
Day by day the leaves expand
Till the green wood tents the land;
Then we ask some smiling morn,
“When was summer born?” Day by day some beauty waves
From the forest, from the plains:
Now the swath and now the sheaf,
Day by day the falling leaf:
Then some lonely eve we sigh,
“When did summer die?”
—Edith M. Thomas. BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE AND THE CANVASSING WORK.
By E. P. Boggs
In the providence of God our colleges were established for the purpose of affording old and young who desire to devote their lives to missionary work, the privilege of obtaining a Christian education. The work of placing the printed page containing the third angel's message in the hands of the people is a missionary enterprise, and the field must be worked from a missionary standpoint. This calls for an army of educated Christian workers who possess tact and refinement. During the past three years, Battle Creek College has taken the position that, as stated in the Spirit of Prophecy, there must be a corps of educated canvassers in the field, who can go to the people and rightly represent the cause of present truth, explaining in an intelligent and impressive manner the great truths which their books contain. This school has taken the initiative in establishing and maintaining a thorough and regular course of instruction for the education of canvassers. For years we have had these and similar statements in our hands: "Young men who desire to enter the field as ministers, colporteurs, or canvassers, should receive a suitable degree of mental training as well as a special preparation for their calling." "Our schools are to be training-schools." "It was as a means ordained of God to educate young men and women for the various departments of missionary labor, that colleges were established among us. It is God's will that they send forth not merely a few, but many laborers." "Every one who receives the light of truth should be taught to bear it to others." We see then that no effort is to be spared in training those who are to engage in missionary work. It may not be out of place to say that even at this eleventh hour, and in the face of the positive statements in the Spirit of Prophecy that canvassers should be educated for their work, many obstacles have been encountered; and often these obstacles are offered by those who should be pushing the work forward. But with the instruction from the Lord that the education and training of canvassers is a part of his work, all difficulties are used as stepping-stones to success, and it will not be long before we shall have a corps of canvassers in the field who will stand faithful to their post of duty, no matter what the trials they are called upon to meet. Owing to the fact that "the world is ripe" for a new book on the life of Christ, "Desire of Ages" is being carefully studied by a class of earnest Christian workers, a number of whom were in the canvassing field last year, and after doing acceptable work, returned to take the second year's course in canvassing at the College. Another class is studying the health works preparatory to engaging in the sale of them at the close of the present school year. There are forty-seven students enrolled in the canvassing department.158 It is indeed inspiring to any one, even to the veteran canvasser, to step into a room where twenty-five or thirty young people are reciting a lesson on the life of Him who is our Elder Brother. The work increases in interest with each succeeding day as the student canvasser becomes more proficient in imparting to others in a clear tone a knowledge of the contents of this book. Arrangements have been made for the College canvassers to go two by two, according to the Bible plan. It is thus that they will spend the summer. Some feel that the canvassing work has accomplished its mission in connection with the message. Such, however, is not the case. The demand for the pure reading matter contained in our books is constantly on the increase. This is shown by the letters constantly received from people of the world who desire to canvass for our publications. In a recent Testimony the statement is made that "where there is now one canvasser there should be one hundred." And again: "The proper circulation and distribution of our publications is one of the most important branches of our present work; but little can be done without this. And our ministers can do more in this work than any other class of persons." As we approach the end, difficulties will multiply on every hand; it will then become all the more necessary for ministers to engage in house-to-house work. "By doing this work they will obtain a varied experience, and will be doing the very work the Apostle Paul did." The proceeds of the forthcoming book by Sister White, entitled "Parables of Jesus," have been generously donated by her to the educational institutions, to assist in raising the debts; and the publishing houses have agreed to publish the work for the benefit of these same institutions. This calls for hearty co-operation on the part of the people. In this offer made by Sister White and the publishing houses lies a golden opportunity for this denomination. Ministers, Bible workers, canvassers, the students in our schools, and all the people should unite in one heroic effort to scatter these books by the hundreds of thousands. They can be sold, and as the burden of debt which is now hanging over the institutions is wiped out, the denomination can again breathe freely, and begin aggressive missionary work on sound business principles. This is one reason why canvassers should be educated for their special work. Hundreds of our people should now plan to take an active part in the circulation of the new book, "Parables of Jesus," as soon as it comes from the press. ELDER J. D. Gowell, president of the Michigan Conference, writes:— “The church school work of the State has been gratifying to the conference committee. The expressions of satisfaction from parents as they talk of the schools, rejoice the heart. The Jackson church would rather sacrifice some of the necessaries of life than have their school close. . . . We have many successful schools in Michigan, and hope to double the number another year. “I believe the Lord led in starting Cedar Lake Academy. The most encouraging feature in that school is the fact that nearly every student in attendance has been converted. There is a demand for other industrial schools in the State, and doubtless others will be organized. The plan for the future is to start the work with a smaller outlay of means. “Cedar Lake and other industrial schools offer instruction to students between the ages of fifteen and twenty, preparatory to their taking up the work in our Training-School.” A RUSTLE of robes as the anthem
Soared gently away on the air—
The Sabbath morn’s service was over,
And briskly I stepped down the stair;
When close in a half-lighted corner,
Where the tall pulpit stairway came down,
Asleep crouched a tender, wee maiden,
With hair like a shadowy crown. Quite puzzled was I by the vision,
But gently to wake her I spoke;
When, at the first word, the small damsel
With one little gasp, straight awoke.
“What brought you here, fair little angel?”
She answered with voice like a bell:
“I tum tos I’ve dot a sick mama,
And want ’oo to please pray her well!” “Who told you?” began I; she stopped me,
“Don’t nobody told me at all:
And papa can’t see, tos he’s cryin’,
And ’sides, sir, I isn’t so small;
I’se been here before with my mama,
We tummed when you ringed the big bell;
And ev’ry time I’se heard you prayin’
For lots o’ sick folks to dit well.” Together we knelt on the stairway,
As humbly I asked the Great Power
To give back health to the mother,
And banish bereavement’s dark hour.
I finished the simple petition,
And paused for a moment; and then
A sweet little voice at my elbow
Lisped softly and gently “Amen!” Hand in hand we turned our steps homeward,
The little maid’s tongue knew no rest;
She prattled and mimicked and carolled;
The shadow was gone from her breast;
And lo! when we reached the fair dwelling,
The nest of my golden-haired waif,
We found that the dearly loved mother
Was past the dread crisis, and safe. They listened, amazed at my story,
And wept o’er their darling’s strange guest;
While the arms of the pale, loving mother
Drew the brave little head to her breast.
With eyes that were brimming and grateful,
They thanked me again and again;
Yet I know in my heart that the blessing
Was won by that gentle “Amen.” In the Early Christian Church. “The purpose of the early Christian parents, as of the Jews, was to train up their children in the fear of God. In order that the children might be exposed as little as possible to the corrupting influence of heathen associations, their education was conducted within the healthful precincts of the home. As a result, they grew up without a taste for debasing pleasures; they acquired simple, domestic tastes; and when the time came, they took their place as consistent and earnest workers in the church. . . . “The history of the patriarchs and prophets, apostles and holy men, whose lives are narrated in the Sacred Volume, were the nursery-tales with which they sought to form the tender minds of their children. As the mind of the child expanded, the parents made it their sacred duty and delightful task daily to exercise him in the recital of select passages of Scripture relating to the doctrines and duties of religion. The Bible was the entertainment of the fireside. It was the first, the last, the only schoolbook almost, of the child.” — Painter, in “History of Education.” “Busy yourselves with your children, for many parents are like ostriches; they are hardened toward their little ones, and satisfied with having laid the egg, they care nothing for it afterwards. . . . “The common man does not think that he is under obligation to God and the world to send his son to school. Every one thinks he is free to bring up his son as he pleases, no matter what becomes of God’s word and command. . . . No one thinks that God has earnestly willed and commanded that children be brought up to his praise and work, — a thing that can not be done without schools. — Martin Luther. “In all our churches and wherever there is a company of believers, church schools should be established, and in these schools there should be teachers who have the true missionary spirit; for the children are to be trained to become missionaries. . . . There is earnest work to be done for the children. Before the overflowing scourge shall come upon all the dwellers upon the earth, the Lord calls upon all who are Israelites indeed to serve him. Gather your children into your own houses; gather them in from the classes who are voicing the words of Satan. . . . Get out of the cities as soon as possible: Establish church schools. Gather in your children, and give them the word of God as the foundation of all their education.” — U. T. DUTY OF PARENTS AS EDUCATORS.
"Jewish education began with the mother. . . . The very household duties she performed moulded her children in accordance with the national discipline. The Sabbath meal, the kindling of the Sabbath lamp, and the setting apart of a portion of the dough from the bread for the household, — these are but instances with which every taph, as he clung to his mother's skirts, must have been familiar. . . . Long before the child could go to school or synagogue the private and united prayers and the domestic rites, whether of the weekly Sabbath or of festive seasons, would indelibly impress themselves upon his mind. . . . More than this, it was in the school at the mother's knee that the stories of patriarchs and prophets, of statesmen and warriors, of poets and sages, of kings and judges, wise men and patriots, and of the great Lawgiver himself, — the whole forming the very best material for the purposes of child-nurture found in any language, — were told and retold until they became parts of the mind itself. . . . As teachers of their children, the women of every country may learn lessons from the matrons of Israel. . . .160 "Jewish education was conducted on what is now called the intensive plan. The home, the school, and the synagogue reinforced one another." — Hinsdale, in Jesus as a Teacher. The Sea and the Air
By M. J. Savage
“O, WHERE is the sea?” the fishes cried,
As they swam the crystal clearness through.
“We’ve heard from of old of the ocean’s tide
And we long to look on the waters blue.
The wise ones speak of the infinite sea,
O, who can tell us if such there be?” The lark flew up in the morning bright,
And sung and balanced on sunny wings;
And this was its song: “I see the light,
I look o’er a world of beautiful things;
But, flying and singing everywhere,
In vain I have searched to find the air.” NATURE'S LESSONS.
By Flavil Scott Mines
The pink apple blossom is just out of reach,
Though you stand on the tips of your toes;
A lesson has nature she wishes to teach,
You will learn it before autumn goes. Strive not for the blossoms, nor weep for defeat,
But patiently wait for a while;
All things come in time, and the moments are fleet.
Soon your frown will give place to a smile. The blossoms will die, but the good fruit will grow
It will ripen in sun and in rain;
The weight of the apple will bend the bough low,
And the waiting will be to your gain. Seek not the bright buds that will fade in a day,
But wait the sweet fruit God will send;
The buds may be high and be out of your way,
While the boughs at the harvest will bend. THE VOICE OF NATURE.
By Hugh Macmillan
It was not in a temple that God first appeared to Moses. It was in a bush growing on a lonely hill-side. And yet that common piece of earth was made by the presence of God holy ground. Moses could feel as solemn there, and as near to heaven, and could worship God as fully, as if he were beneath the roof of the grandest temple that man had ever built. . . . God makes the place of his feet everywhere glorious, and every wayside bush is aflame with his presence. . . . The abode of the rich man is made for the very purpose of exalting the person who inhabits it, and separating him from his fellow creatures. All his splendid surroundings are intended to show what a great personage he is. The very object of the magnificent architecture and furniture is to overwhelm the spectator with astonishment and awe. But, on the other hand, everything in God's dwelling is meant to attract the poorest and humblest visitor, and by the gentleness of God exhibited in every object to make him great. God made his house so grand and beautiful in order that he might teach our minds and win our hearts. Everything is intended to produce in us a deep sense of the lovableness of the divine character. And when we find out with what wonderful skill God has adorned the smallest things for our sake, and how wisely he has fitted them to gratify the innocent desire for pleasure, we yield to the attraction of his softer attributes, and realize that he delights in the happiness of his creatures. . . . He who can see all the splendor, and take in all the joy of the landscape, has the true possession of it, no matter to whom its acres belong. All the beauty, all the tender touches, with which God has filled it are for him alone, a kind of confidential cipher-writing he alone can interpret in which God reveals to him the secrets of his wisdom. It is indeed in man's soul that the beauty of nature has any existence. In the physical world it is mere color and shape, and substance and motion, mere matter in its various attributes. But in man's soul it becomes a scene of divine order and beauty, full of infinite significance.162Nature takes the hue of a man's own feeling, and he finds in it what he brings to it. In proportion as he becomes more intelligent and holy, so does it become more beautiful and significant to him. We know how much more heavenly this earth seems to us when we are in a heavenly frame of mind. And every one who has been made by his conversion in sympathy with nature, and in harmony with God's creation, when he gazes upon some beautiful scene of nature, feels that it touches within his soul some secret sense of more perfect scenes, of which, in future stages of his being, he is destined to bear a part. And that feeling greatly helps his spiritual communion with God, and gives a sacred character to the landscape. Every emotion which natural objects inspire assumes the character of devotion. He has not, when he seeks the solitude of nature, to work himself into an elevated frame of mind or to regard the time and place only as a fit opportunity for holy meditation and prayer. He passes at once into a mood of divine fellowship. The atmosphere around him is itself devotional. The supernatural is to him but the natural disclosed. He sees an impress of God upon the whole scene, and every thing witnesses of him. The place is none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven. . . . The Bible is full of natural aids to devotion. We look upon the love of nature as an essential feature of modern times, the great peculiarity of modern poverty. But like everything beautiful in modern culture and thought, the seed of it may be traced to the Bible. In all the literature of Greece and Rome there is no such appreciation of the beauty of nature as we find in the Holy Scriptures. And this was owing to the higher and purer religious faith of the sacred writers, their deep consciousness of the all-pervading presence of the one living and true God. They made use constantly of the beauties of nature, not to create a mere idle sentiment, but to illustrate and emphasize man's moral and spiritual relations to God, as a kind of pictorial language of trust, prophecy, and prayer. They studied the universal beauty of life only in God's will. In the Hebrew Psalms, long ages before the light of physical science had dawned, there is a glowing recognition of the glory of the earth and sky, teaching us to open our ears and eyes, to listen to God's whisper, and to look upon God's face in the wonders of creation. And therefore every one should give way to his feelings. . . . The more truly religious we become, the more we can enter into the simple life of flower and bird and tree, and rise through this vividness of sympathy to the spiritual images or symbols which they suggest, and which our Lord so wonderfully embodied in his teaching.—Hugh Macmillan.