completely. To live completely is to live in active sympathy with these great institutions of our civilization. To "train up" means to train the child to an understanding of these great institutions and to a cheerful and cordial acceptance of their worth as personal possessions of his own. soul. The first five named are the institutions usually honored in the secular school. The last and the greatest is peculiarly the one whose significance is unfolded in the Sunday-school. To train up a child to a religious life, a life of service, patterned after the perfect life of the Son of God, is, then, the end we have in mind. This implies that religious life must also be understood as a vital equipment for right interpretation of these other great institutions. To live completely means not only to live religiously, but it also means to live in a home sanctified by religion, to apply the principles of religion to one's daily toil, to cultivate only religious associations, to labor for a religious government, and to promote only such education as comprehends the words of Jesus: "And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ." Here let us pause and formulate the end of education that the Sunday-school should foster. See clearly what it means to train a soul up into ripe red fruit. The owner they knew had gone to town for his mail. There were so many apples that the farmer would not miss just a few. The boys debated for a time between desire and duty. Finally one boy said, "Let's get some." Another boy said, "I will watch down the road while you run to the trees." A third said, "I won't take these apples without asking the owner." What do you think of each boy? Study your mental process as you are formulating your reply. You will then arrive at some understanding of the process of forming judgments. Two Illustrations A mother said that her son was often wilful and perverse. He insisted upon doing things she asked him not to do. He refused to obey her commands. She was often on the point of punishing him, but she said, "He is my only son. How can I?" Her judgment was at variance with her mother-love. It was difficult, it was painful, to act. A man who lived in a city hoarded his money. He was a hard master. He drove sharp bargains. He insisted upon the last penny. He lived in a small house. He wore poor clothes. He ate cheap foods. His money increased greatly. He refused to give to any charity. He had few friends. He lived a lonely life. He died. People said, "It is a good riddance." But in his will it was found that all his savings were given to care for poor boys. He suffered for years that he might make it possible to save others from a life of poverty. Was he justified? Was his life a success? See again in this incident how the judgment is held in suspense. The conflict is between feeling and judgment. Jesus, in a number of parables, sets forth the same struggle. He realized that it is a good discipline for the judgment to struggle against the beckonings of our feelings. To judge wisely is to announce a deliberate conclusion, no matter how the feelings may protest. Judgment is a feelingless power. It is the act of the soul in which the facts are coolly examined and a verdict rendered as judicially as a judge announces a decree. Judgment, like justice, is blindfolded that the solicitations of feeling may not color the conclusion. A Greek Motto 66 The motto of the ancient Greek was, Let us follow the argument whithersoever it leads." It takes a brave and fearless intellect to do this. One can see him on the track of truth, following patiently, heroically on, from one conclusion to another. Refusing to be turned aside by any emotion or concern, he pursues his quest in harmony with the fixed laws of thought. See him as he moves forward. What if his quest is vain, still it is his to follow on, until hopeless, reliefless, endless, he comes at last face to face with A Holy Quest blind, sickening, dying despair. He has lost, not because he was turned aside, but because he had no goal. A disciple said, "Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee." Jesus was the great argument. Brave and fearless men followed him throughout all Galilee and Judæa; down the valley of the Jordan; out into the wilderness; up into the mountain; through the boisterous and buffeting multitude, into the solitude of the starless night; by the brook Kidron and the garden of Gethsemane ; to the cross, the tomb, the gates of death, and the portals of life eternal. They came at last to see him as God sees him, and to know him as he knew them. They found him ever, because they followed him steadfastly. Thus in our quest for truth, step by step, invoking the guidance of trained judgment, we shall come at last to the author of all truth. Happy the teacher whose purpose is steadfast; whose path of pursuit is never clouded by doubt nor crossed by unbelief, and whose unwavering resolution carries courage and comfort and conviction to his pupils. To be fair, to be accurate, to be cautious, is to inspire respect and to win confidence from your pupils. If we examine still more clearly an act of judgment we shall find that it is accompanied by a state of mind called belief. When I announce a Judgment and judgment, based upon definite facts, my soul assents to this judgment. I believe the conclusion is true. When I assert that snow is crystalline, I believe the assertion. When I assert that God is love, I believe he is love. The very fabric of my judgment is belief. When I cannot believe, I have not clearly judged. "Lord, I believe." This is the final word. To set belief in the soul, we must train our pupils to formulate true judgments. The attitude of belief rests upon clearness in judgment. Thus judgment, rightly trained, becomes the strong-sided champion of conviction. Over against belief stands doubt. We have so far assumed that the soul in judging either accepts or rejects a statement. We have said that judgment affirms or denies agreement between two objects of thought. We have a third state of soul to consider. We may waver between acceptance and rejection, and suspend our judgment. This is a state of doubt. When the relation between the objects of thought is not discerned, the soul cannot formulate a decision. We are in doubt. When we believe a thing the mind is at rest. We are ready to act. When we doubt a thing the mind is in unrest. We are not ready to act. We must resolve the doubt, How Doubt |