That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best; His state
Is kingly. Thousands at His bidding speed,

And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.'

JOHN MILTON.

PERILS, and misfortunes, and want, and pain, and

injury, are more or less the certain lot of every man that cometh into the world. It behooveth thee, therefore, O child of calamity, early to fortify thy mind with courage and patience, that thou mayest support, with a becoming resolution, thy allotted portion of human evil. As the camel beareth labor, and heat, and hunger, and thirst, through deserts of sand, and fainteth not, so the fortitude of a man shall sustain him through all perils. A noble spirit disdaineth the malice of fortune; his soul is not to be cast down by it. He hath not suffered his happiness to depend on her smiles, and, therefore, with her frowns he shall not be dismayed. Under the pressure of misfortunes, his calmness alleviates their weight, and his constancy shall surmount them. ANONYMOUS.

EANING on Him, make with reverent meekness,

His own thy will,

And with strength from Him shall thy utter weakness

Life's task fulfill.

XXIV. The World's Censure a Means of Grace.

JF

Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our

sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted.
He was oppressed and

He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth.—
Isaiah liii. 4, 7.

a man's failings are spoken of, let him give God

thanks for putting this humiliation on him for the amendment of his ways, if they need it. But if he is surely convinced that they need it not in that wherein they blame him, let him after all remember that whatsoever he be, he is but imperfect compared with what is required of him.

The humble man seeks not revenge for injuring treatment, but bears it with unruffled temper. When his conscience tells him that he has offended against his brother-man, he confesses the wrong.

Let none of thy failings appear small or trifling in thine own eyes; repent and atone for all before thy light is quenched, before thy soul is required of thee, before the book of thy deeds is opened for judgment. ELEAZAR BEN YEHUDAH, (XIII. Century).

SSAILED by scandal and the tongue of strife,

His only answer was: a blameless life.

If thou doest make, O righteous God,
The tongues of men Thy chastening rod,
I will not chide, but hold Thee still
And learn to do Thy holy will.

XXV.

The Fining Pot.

Thou, O God, hast proved us, Thou hast tried us,

through water, but Thou broughtest us out into a

place of enlargement.-Psalm lxvi. 10, 12.

SINCE I have designated righteousness the root of

the manifested activity of God in the visible world, every question, as to the nature of the soul, is best referred back to this source. I maintain that the soul, from its very nature, cannot develop any activity by itself; and that, therefore, it had necessarily to be bound by God to something through the medium of which its activity could be expressed, thereby enabling it to attain eternal happiness. Thus the practice of pious acts increases the light of its being; which, on the contrary, is darkened by sins. The judge of these endeavors is that Rock of Worlds who knows all our actions. Holy Writ compares this trial to the refinement of gold and silver in the furnace, bringing to light its purer and truer worth. Even as it is said: The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the Lord trieth the hearts (Proverbs xvii. 3). And again: I, the Lord, will bring the third part through fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on My name, and I will

hear them; I will say: it is My people, and they shall say, the Lord is my God (Zechariah xiii. 9).

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, only to Thy name be given glory and honor, for Thy mercy and Thy truth's sake.—Psalm cxv. 1.

PEAK never mere empty words; enter into strife with no man; place no reliance on men of mocking lips. Wrangle not with evil men. Cherish no too fixed good opinion of thyself, but lend thine ear to remonstrance and reproof. Be not weakly pleased at demonstrations of honor; strive not anxiously for distinction. Never let a thought of envy of the evil-doer cross thy mind. Make peace whenever thou canst among people, and lead them gently into the good and peaceful path. If the means of thy support

in life be measured out scantily to thee, remember the many things thou hast to be thankful for, and that suffering is a test of piety and preparation for better things to come. But if worldly wealth be lent to thee, exalt not thyself above thy poor brother; for both of you came naked into the world, and will, at last, sleep together in the dust.

ELEAZAR BEN YEHUDAH,

(XIII. Century).

RAISE not thy work, but let thy work praise thee,

For deeds, not words, make each man's memory stable;

If what thou dost is good, its good all men will see ;

Musk by its smell is known, not by its label.

Thy glory shall my inspiration be,

For what I am, I am, O God, through Thee.
And if of man a word of praise I won,

It was for that which I for Thee have done.

XXVII. Unconscious Worshippers of God.

I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not.-Isaiah lxv. 1.

CONSIDER man, in his varied aspects, man of the physical universe, man as an intellectual being, man as a moral factor-you must arrive at God. When you have scaled this rung on the ladder of metaphysics, and descend again back to man, he appears not as the