ways past finding out. But in this way he can never come to know Him as a man knows his friend, as a little child his mother. He may learn that God is good, and that His tender mercy is over all His works, for truly has the poet said:

Means and methods manifold did God the Truth devise,
That for thee in thy mother's breast some tenderness might rise.¹
Hence, long ere earthly mother was, there lived the Truth of God:
Whoso this truth then knoweth not, what is he but a clod?

From contemplation of the Power that causes the law-observing movements of the planets in their orbits, and from consideration of the Wisdom which has bound creature to creature in bonds of mutual help and dependence, and from observation of the care and foresight which has provided each animal with the limbs and weapons needed for its life and work, one may learn some of the glorious attributes and something of the kindness and character of the Almighty Creator. Hence the Psalmist asks:

He that planted the ear, shall He not hear?
He that formed the eye, shall He not see?
He that chastiseth the nations, shall not He correct,
Even He that teacheth man knowledge?
(Ps. xciv. 9, 10.)

The consonant voice of creation should suffice to teach men that God is Almighty, All-Wise, All-gracious. And, through the light of the reason and conscience which God Most High has given him, man should be able to perceive the difference between right and wrong, justice and injustice, and to distinguish that which is pleasing to God from that which displeases Him. He should also perceive that justice demands the punishment of crimes and the reward of virtuous deeds. He should learn that God, who has placed in man's spirit the recognition of these things, must be just and holy, and that consequently

He rewards the good and punishes the wicked. Man ought to be able to learn at least all this about God's Will and Attributes from his own reason and conscience. But experience teaches us that he has not done so, apart from Divine Revelation. The very existence of the heathen is a sufficient evidence of the truth of this assertion. Many of them possess learning and keen understanding and great sagacity; yet in all past ages, and even at the present time, such men in India and China and other lands have remained enchained in the slavery of idolatry, and have never realized that God is One, Living, Eternal, All-Wise, Almighty, Holy, the Creator of Heaven and Earth and of all things visible and invisible. Religion after religion has grown up in various lands, and in most of these, though there may be found a feeling after God, an acknowledgement of the necessity of worship, yet men have been led astray by the Evil One and seduced by their own desires to worship the Host of Heaven, or senseless idols, or dead men, or even brute beasts. Moreover, although man may understand some things through his own intellect, yet, since he cannot feel assured of its correctness, he remains disturbed in mind and uncertain what to believe and what to do. Even Plato and Aristotle in Greece, though renowned as among the wisest of men, never realized the unity and personality of God, still less His Holiness.

Let it not be overlooked that what influences man's actions and beliefs is not his intellect alone. He has also a sensual disposition, and fleshly desires have gained such power over him that they often blind the eye of his perception. On this account also man has never attained, and can never attain by the mere exercise of his reason, even to that degree of the knowledge of God which has been already mentioned. Nor has he ever by his own power overcome his passions and been able and willing to do what he knew to be right.