And if it be an honest one,

Keep steadfast on your way!

Although ye may not gain at once
The points ye most desire,

Be patient-time can wonders work
Plod on and do not tire:

Obstructions, too, may crowd your path, In threatening, stern array,

Yet flinch not: fear not: they may prove Mere shadows in your way.

126. RELIGION.

The germs of religion exist in us all. We have, each of us, the spiritual eye to see, the mind to know, the heart to love, the will to obey God. We have a Spiritual Nature that may bear the image of Divine Perfection. Glorious privilege! Let us not cast it away. Let us not waste our souls on perishable objects.

-REV. CHANNING.

Every human heart has its religious yearnings, it has a hunger for religion which sooner or later wants to be satisfied.

-MAX MÜLLER,

Religion consists in the perception of the infinite under such manifestations as are able to influence the moral character of man.

-MAX MÜLLER.

Religion is that which binds the mind of man to God: it regulates the course of our feelings and actions in reference to God, just as filial duty expresses the regulation of the feelings and actions of children in reference to their parents, or conjugal duty expresses the regulation of feelings and actions between husbands and wives.*

-MRS. COPLEY.

And the type or ideal of religion is the complete surrender of the heart, and strength, and soul, and

• From The Young Wife.

mind of man to Deity. Only a religion, which admits of a full communion of the reason, affection, and will of the worshipper with the object of his worship-only a religion, which presents an object of worship capable

worshipper's na

of eliciting the entire devotion of the
ture, and at the same time of ennobling, enlarging, re-
fining, and satisfying that nature-fully realises the idea
of religion, or in other words, can claim to be a perfect
religion.

*

Think of religion from the very first, removing all
guilt from the heart;

Religion consists in what prevents us from falling

into sin.

Truthfulness, fellow-feeling, austerities, and purity
are the four legs on which religion stands;

The mode of life of that man is best whose heart
contains these.

Superstition, vanity, bad company, and lying are the
four legs of impiety;

Of these if lying takes possession of the body, piety
is destroyed.

If truthfulness dwells in the heart, true ideas are
suggested;

The intellect is expanded and God takes us under
his care.

Truthful people having good knowledge com-
mand much glory and respect;

And their fair fame is much increased in the world

which praises them.

The sovereign places confidence in them and leaves
precious treasure under their charge;

• From Theism by Rev. Dr. Robert Flint.

1

God the Creator is easy of access to truthful people.

If truthfulness dwells in the heart of a man, he becomes holy;

Truthfulness is the essence of all virtues and all

men look upon a truthful man as their friend. He who has sympathy with living things removes the sufferings of the helpless;

And imparts happiness to all by means of body, wealth and speech.

He who cherishes good ideas in the heart and wishes to do well to all,

And who does not allow faults of others to influence his heart is said to have sympathy.

That man has lived well and thought well,

Who having come into the world has been benevolent.

Religious austerities consist in enduring hardships in the discharge of duties;

All else is sham which will not answer our purpose. Such men as regard happiness and misery, joy and grief, as equal,

And do not give up fortitude and duty, are rare. He who gets through all purifying processes and keeps his body pure,

And who afterwards removes impurities from the heart by means of the water of spiritual knowledge is a hero.

That person is holy who fosters such duties in the heart,

Chhotum says, such a person justifies his birth and the life of such a person is noble.

-CHHOTUM.*

*A Gujarati poet.

*

*

Religion is not a single act, but a habit of the mind. Religion is as necessary to live by, as it is to die by. It is "the one thing needful," Luke X. 42; that which we want everyday to guide and support our steps in the path of duty, and to impart strength and consolation for meeting the various trials, from which even the most favoured lot is not exempted. It is only vital, spiritual religion that can impart real succour and strength to the soul.*

-MRS. COPLEY.

I am satisfied that one cause of the limited sway of religion is the narrow conception formed of its function. That religion is a Universal Principle,-spreading its influence through the whole being, developing every power to a fulness which it could not otherwise attain, diffusing inspiration through the intellect, as well as the Conscience, and the Will, taking under its purifying rule the Appetites and Passions, as well as the Affections, imparting fresh interest to common existence, exalting and expending practical energy, refining and adorning social manners, adding cheerfulness as well as purity to friendly intercourse, and blessing us only by this universally enlivening agency, this is a truth not yet understood as it should be. Hence to many, Religion, instead of being thought of as comprehending whatever is good, wise, energetic, beautiful, great and happy in Human Nature, is a word of doubtful import, especially suggesting notions of restraint, repression, narrowness of thought, exclusive feeling, and habitual gloom.

-REV. CHANNING.

* From The Young Wife.