human nature, not only to understand the meaning and truth as it is acted out by different characters in the Bible, but he needs it in order to impart it successfully to others.

Truth is a myriad-sided figure, and has as many phases as there are persons. And in presenting it, he has not only to be familiar with the truth, but he has to study the capacity and nature of those to whom it is presented.

He is to instruct the careless and indifferent; to convince and persuade the unbeliever; to lead the doubter that halts between serving God and serving sin, and to confirm the believing saints. In each of these classes he will find some possessed of a deep feeling and sudden resolution; others with apparently no feeling, but a deep, thorough, intellectual conviction; others with a simple longing or yearning after God; and an endless modification of these. To read human nature, and discern spirits, that he may be able rightly to divide the word, giving to each his portion of meat in due season, the milk of the word to the babes in Christ, and the strong meat to those of full age, requires no small degree of mental perfection.

If he preach from a text, not taking into account the connection, its author, his condition, the time it was written, why it was written, to whom it was written, their manners, customs, laws, and so forth, why of course he will fail. He has to pick out the truth as he finds it clothed in signs and symbols fitted to an ancient time, and in the East with different modes of thought and expression, and translate it into the present to a people of progress in the West, with a mode of living and thinking as widely different as they are separated by time and

space.

Now in view of all this, can he come to discharge these great life duties, and dispense to the soul-sick people the elements of life and death, with a mind undisciplined, unfinished as yet, raw and crude, and like a fool rush in where angels fear to tread?

If there is any calling for which a polished intellect is necessary, it is pre-eminently that of the ministry. If there is any man that needs to understand the materials he works in, and the tools he works with, it is the preacher. Mind is his material, and mind is his tools. It takes a far-reaching, comprehensive mind to break loose from all prejudice and discover truth as it is, and detect error wherever it may be found. It requires a strong will and resolution to adopt the truth whether it conflicts with his preconceived opinions or not, and abandon the error -even though it has been handed down in an unbroken line from time immemorial, and long cherished by himself. And it takes equally acuteness, close observation and wisdom to impart it properly to others.

The lawyer may fail in not knowing the law or the facts in the case, and the loss be counted in dollars and cents; the doctor, through ignorance, may give wrong medicine, or mistake the disease, and the loss be the natural life of the patient. But if the minister be ignorant and mistake error for truth, poison for balm, death for life, the loss will be that of immortal souls.. The mistake can only be estimated by the torment and agony of lost souls. And what will a man give in exchange

for his soul? But woe to that man by whom the offence comes; better a millstone had been hanged about his neck and he cast into the sea. So far as the interests of the soul excel those of the body, or eternity time, so far does the ministry, above all other callings, need a wellbalanced and fully developed mind.

But let us see if this view of the importance of perfect mental development is not confirmed by God's choice of instruments. We shall cite a few instances from the Bible where they were called immediately, and from the Christian era, in which they are called by his Providence. For in the divine government there is nothing more clearly shown than that God works by wisely adapting means to ends. We shall thus verify our position by showing that not only in the physical, vegetable and animal world, as admitted, but also in the realm of souls-in the great work of gathering them in-he works by the same plan, adapting the means to the end, the instrument to the work. Where there is a great work to be done, the gifted, cultured men are invariably called to the honor of doing it.

Who was commanded to free his oppressed nation, and amid the thunderings of Mount Sinai received from the hand of God the laws. to govern them? Who for forty years governed, and mediated between the rebellious people and their offended God? In short, who was the instrument chosen to be the founder, under God, of the Jewish religion? A man learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians-the great law giver, Moses.

Jesus grew in body and in mind. If it became him to be made in all things like unto his brethren, then his perfect mind was necessary to his accomplishing the perfect work he had to do.

The twelve immediately chosen to preach the gospel were men who had been three years in the school of Jesus, their minds kept continually on the stretch to grasp the meaning of his life and teaching. Their training qualified them especially to preach to the Jews. When the gospel was rejected by the Jews and to be offered to the Gentiles, other men, specially qualified, took charge of the work. Down to this time the disciples and apostles, in their worship, had clung not only to the Holy Land and the Holy City, but to the Holy Place of the Temple. Who was the one chosen first to denounce this local worship with these Jewish forms and customs, and show to the world that the Temple itself, with all its rites, ceremonies, &c., was only a symbol of Christ and his work-that Christ had come, and they must necessarily cease? Who was chosen to investigate the causes of complaint and dispute between the Hellenistic and Hebrew Christians? It was Stephen, a man of Greek culture, mentioned in the Bible as "full of grace and power," as possessed of an irresistible "spirit and wisdom." See, in his defence before the Sanhedrim, (Acts 8,) his thorough knowledge of Jewish church history. In what a large-minded way he sifts out and grasps the facts, and draws the conclusions so convincing that the Jews, enraged, with their hearts "sawn asunder," could only gnash their teeth against him.

But who was the man chosen to settle for all time the profound

questions which Stephen had raised, and lay broad and deep the foundation of the church universal?

A man born and nursed in one of the most polished cities of the empire; a man who had stereotyped upon his memory all the Greek and Hebrew lore which ages had accumulated, and all the traditions which long centuries had transmitted; a man equally at home in Greek literature and Jewish history and theology; peerless in the school of Gamaliel, and scarce second to any in the empire; with a mind proudly gifted by nature, and thoroughly and profoundly trained by art, and, to crown all, permeated to the full measure of its capacity with the Holy Spirit. A man, by name Saul of Tarsus, afterward Paul, the Apostle.

Between him and the work there was admirable consistency. God polished the shaft before it was sped. None but Paul could so write that sublime discourse of the Romans, in which he reasons in the abstract, and on admitted facts, to drive the Jews from forms to faith, as to stand the test of Rome, that peerless city, the centre of power and influence, where science and art had reached a perfection hitherto unknown. Paul could shake the tyrant on his throne, and compel another to start from his seat in convulsive agony, and make a third almost ready to become a Christian. By a few sentences he could still an infuriate mob. What a keen insight and thorough knowledge of mankind!

Who but Paul was qualified to plead the cause of Christ at Athens, the place where Socrates had taught, Plato lectured, and Demosthenes thundered? But he was powerful, cultured and eloquent; every sentence was like a flash of lightning; every word was like one of the hailstones of Revelation.

These are the men that move the moral world, and work great reforms in church and state. Such men live; their writings live; their spirits live; they can never die—no, never.

Now trace the history of the Christian religion down through succeeding times, and mark the men who stand like beacon-lights through the dark ages, and live in the hearts of the people, when others are forgotten. Take, for example, Jerome and Tertullian, Chrysostom and Augustine, Anselm, Luther, Calvin and John Knox, Chalmers and Hall. In all these there is this feature: They were not only men of deep piety, but men of mind. You may search the history of truth back to the days of Paul, and you will find that those who left an impression on their own and subsequent ages, were the gifted, cultured men of those times.

Of these I shall briefly notice one.

When Rome became the headquarters of corruption, and true religion had sunk to its lowest ebb. and "the mother of abominations" usurped the power, who was chosen to defend the cause of truth?

Wickliffe may be the morning star of the Reformation, but Luther was its sun-full-orbed and glorious. He had no equal in philosophy, scholastic theology, or eloquence. However various and discordant might be the passions of his audience, he could manage them at will.

Behold him at Worms! Here he must meet in state grandeur the

Emperor, and Rome's haughty nuncio, and defend God's truth against one of the most sublime and powerful impostures the world ever saw. Here he must cope with the representatives of Rome, vying in grandeur with Charles himself, and over-awing even him with the slumbering thunders of the Vatican.

But Luther knew their weakness; it was not in talents, but in the cause. Like Paul before Felix, he was permitted to speak for himself. For two hours could be heard his voice, breaking in thunder peals which made the legate turn pale. Here he made an overwhelming impression-such a triumph of reason and eloquence as shook the very foundation of Rome.

Never since the days of Paul had the cause of truth a more powerful and eloquent champion.

Here again God honors and employs the cultured.

Error has always had, in all ages, its Hume and its Voltaire; and truth must have its Paul.

Now, if the preacher needs to master the great questions in theology; if he needs to understand the Bible; if to interpret it to others he needs a keen insight and thorough knowledge of human nature; if God has chosen the gifted, cultured men in all ages to do his greatest work-then is seen the utility of the science of mind to the preacher. MONMOUTH, ILL., April 10, 1873.

MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.

FOREIGN.

LETTER FROM MISS DODDS.*

LATAKIYEH, November 14th, 1877.

Dear Sisters:-I cannot tell you how grateful we were to you for your timely help in the way of clothing for our flock. The material and style were exactly what we needed. "Inasmuch as ye did it unto

one of the least of these, ye did it unto me."

We have now 89 boarders. Among these are the three daughters of our brother Daoud. They have for some time been prevented from coming by their heathen relations, though he has repeatedly written to them asking them to send. They are named: Howa, (Eve,) Miriam, (Mary,) and Raheel, (Rachel). Their mother and Jusef Jedeed's wife have both come down to spend the winter with us in order to escape the abuse of the lawless soldiery. They are scouring the mountains in search of recruits, and no woman's virtue is safe where they are. The things that are being done daily are such as cannot be spoken of. May God soon rid the earth of Moslem rule. It blights everything under its influence. Only a week ago our doorkeeper came up to our house in the morning carrying what appeared to be a bundle of dirty sacking. He sat it down and there was a baby with only a few dirty rags for clothing. Such a miserable object I think I never saw.

* To the Ladies' Missionary Society of Beaver Falls Congregation.

It

may have been about two years old, but its features were those of an old woman. Its little brown limbs were skin and bone. Libbus said he had found it on the doorstep. An idiot girl who has been here for three years took it right in her arms, all dirty as it was, and said it would be her baby. True to her word, she has cared for it ever since, day and night. It devoured its first food like a wild animal. We heard afterwards that it was the child of a Moslem who was too poor to keep it. We thought then that it was not likely to be left with us long, for in the eyes of a Moslem starving would be a far happier fate than to become a Christian. So yesterday the father came and demanded the babe, saying that his cousin would keep it. We told him he must first bring money to pay its board and clothes, and he went away. That is an argument which few of them try to answer. There are 80 pupils in the boys' day school. The girls' day school has not been opened yet, rooms not being ready. Next week we hope to begin. Mrs. Easson has been suffering from fever, and is still quite weak. Mr. Easson has been confined to a dark room for about two weeks, by inflammation of both eyes. Dr. Metheny has been disabled by a severe attack of erysipelas, although able to sit and preach on Sabbath. To-night he is ill with fever. The rest of us are well.

Again allow us all to thank you for your kind remembrance of us. May the Lord of the harvest bountifully reward you, is the prayer of your sister. In behalf of the mission.

LETTER FROM MR. EASSON.

MARY E. DODDS.

REV. DAVID METHENY, M. D., of the Latakiyeh Mission, we regret to say, is in very feeble health. He has been compelled, by the necessity of the case, to apply to the Board for permission to return home for a time, unless his condition should speedily and greatly improve. It was the unanimous opinion of the mission that leave should be granted without delay. The subjoined extract from a letter by Mr. Easson, will excite solicitude while it will awaken sympathy for our brother throughout the church. The permission asked for has been granted, though we fondly hope that more favorable news may come to hand in a short time. Let the brethren and friends in Syria be remembered by the church in her prayers. Mr. Easson writes: Although I have only time for a short note, still I must write a few lines about the doctor. He seems to be utterly broken down, and the fever will not leave him. We thought about a week ago that his days with us were numbered. The truth of the matter is, he ought to have gone home last summer, but he would not ask to leave the mission, as long as there was any danger from the Moslems, and also he did not wish to go away and leave the care of the work all on me. But since it is certain Mr. Beattie is coming back and all danger is over, and as his trouble has taken a triple hold again, he finally felt it his duty to try and save his own life, and therefore last week we agreed to ask the Board for permission for him to come home. He is what you would call a broken down man. The least excitement sends him to bed with a fever. His lungs also are diseased so that it hurts him to preach. I think he ought to leave here as soon as he is strong enough to travel, for if he waits too long he may not be able to get away at all.