Art thou, too, near such doom? vague fear there is:
For I have seen my sons most unlike Gods.
Divine ye were created, and divine

In sad demeanor, solemn, undisturb'd,
Unruffled, like high Gods, ye lived and ruled:
Now I behold in you fear, hope, and wrath;
Actions of rage and passion: even as

I see them, on the mortal world beneath,
In men who die. This is the grief, O Son!
Sad sign of ruin, sudden dismay, and fall!
Yet do thou strive; as thou art capable,
As thou canst move about, an evident God,
And canst oppose to each malignant hour
Ethereal presence: I am but a voice;
My life is but the life of winds and tides, -
No more than winds and tides can I avail:
But thou canst. Be thou therefore in the van
Of circumstance; yea, seize the arrow's barb
Before the tense string murmur.

-

To the earth!
For there thou wilt find Saturn, and his woes.
Meantime I will keep watch on thy bright sun,
And of thy seasons be a careful nurse."
Ere half this region-whisper had come down.
Hyperion arose, and on the stars

Lifted his curved lids, and kept them wide
Until it ceased; and still he kept them wide:
And still they were the same bright, patient stars.
Then with a slow incline of his broad breast,
Like to a diver in the pearly seas,

Forward he stoop'd over the airy shore,

And plunged all noiseless into the deep night.

JOHN KEBLE

JOHN KEBLE. Born at Fairford, Gloucestershire, England, 1792; died at Bournemouth, Hampshire, 1866. Author of "The Christian Year," of which half a million copies have been sold. The spiritual beauty of his life, his high sense of duty, and his practical benevolence, all accord with his hymns.

SUN OF MY SOUL

SUN of my soul, thou Saviour dear,
It is not night if thou be near;
O may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide thee from thy servant's eyes.

When the soft dews of kindly sleep
My weary eyelids gently steep,

Be my last thought, how sweet to rest
Forever on my Saviour's breast.

Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without thee I cannot live;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without thee I dare not die.

If some poor wandering child of thine
Have spurn'd to-day the voice divine,
Now, Lord, the gracious work begin;
Let him no more lie down in sin.

Watch by the sick; enrich the poor
With blessings from thy boundless store;
Be every mourner's sleep to-night,
Like infant slumbers, pure and light.

Come near and bless us when we wake,
Ere through the world our way we take

Till in the ocean of thy love
We lose ourselves in heaven above.

MORNING

NEW every morning is the love
Our wakening and uprising prove;
Through sleep and darkness safely brought,
Restored to life, and power, and thought.

New mercies, each returning day,
Hover around us while we pray;

New perils past, new sins forgiven,

New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.

If on our daily course our mind

Be set to hallow all we find,

New treasures still of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.

The trivial round, the common task,
Will furnish all we ought to ask:
Room to deny ourselves: a road
To bring us daily nearer God.

Only, O Lord, in thy dear love
Fit us for perfect rest above;
And help us this, and every day,
To live more nearly as we pray.

THOMAS À KEMPIS

THOMAS À KEMPIS. Born at Kempen, near Cologne, 1380; died, 1471. His name was Hamerken, of the Mount St. Agnes monastery, near Zwolle. He was author of the "Imitation of Christ,” a favorite book of devotion for Christians of every denomination.

(From "IMITATION OF CHRIST")

HUMILITY WITH RESPECT TO INTELLECTUAL
ATTAINMENTS

EVERY man naturally desires to increase in knowledge; but what doth knowledge profit, without the fear of the Lord? Better is the humble clown, that serveth God, than the proud philosopher, who, destitute of the knowledge of himself, can describe the course of the planets. He that truly knows himself, becomes vile in his own eyes, and has no delight in the praise of man. If I knew all that the world contains, and had not charity, what would it avail me in the sight of God, who will judge me according to my deeds?

Rest from an inordinate desire of knowledge, for it is subject to much perplexity and delusion. Learned men are fond of the notice of the world, and desire to be accounted wise: but there are many things, the knowledge of which has no tendency to promote the recovery of our first divine life; and it is surely a proof of folly, to devote ourselves wholly to that with which our supreme good has no connection. The soul is not to be satisfied with the multitude of words; but a holy life is a continual feast, and a pure conscience the foundation of a firm and immovable confidence in God. The more thou knowest, and the better thou understandest, the more severe will be thy condemnation, unless thy life be proportionably more holy. Be not, therefore, exalted, for any uncommon skill in any art or science; but let the superior knowledge that is given thee, make thee more fearful, and more watchful over thyself. If thou supposest that thou knowest many things, and hast perfect understanding of them, consider how many more things there are, which thou knowest not at all; and, instead of being

exalted with a high opinion of thy great knowledge, be rather abased by an humble sense of thy much greater ignorance. And why dost thou prefer thyself to another, since thou mayst find many who are more learned than thou art, and better instructed in the will of God?

The highest and most profitable learning is the knowledge and contempt of ourselves; and to have no opinion of our own merit, and always to think well and highly of others, is an evidence of great wisdom and perfection. Therefore, though thou seest another openly offend, or even commit some enormous sin, yet thou must not from thence take occasion to value thyself for thy superior goodness; for thou canst not tell how long thou wilt be able to persevere in the narrow path of virtue. All men are frail, but thou shouldst reckon none so frail as thyself.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH

BLESSED is the man whom eternal Truth teacheth, not by obscure figures and transient sounds, but by direct and full communication! The perceptions of our senses are narrow and dull, and our reasoning on those perceptions frequently misleads us. To what purpose are our keenest disputations on hidden and obscure subjects, for our ignorance of which we shall not be brought into judgment at the great day of universal retribution? How extravagant the folly, to neglect the study of the "one thing needful"; and wholly devote our time and faculties to that which is not only vainly curious, but sinful and dangerous as the state of "those that have eyes and see not"!

What have redeemed souls to do with the distinctions and subtleties of logical divinity? He whom the eternal Word condescendeth to teach, is disengaged at once from the labyrinth of human opinions. For "of one word are all things"; and all things without voice or language speak Him alone: He is that divine principle which speaketh in our hearts; and, without which, there can be neither just apprehension, nor rectitude of judgment. Now, he to whom all things are but this one; who comprehendeth all things in His will, and beholdeth all things in His light; hath "his heart fixed," and abideth in the peace of God. O God, who art the truth, make me one with thee in