in its teaching, and outward rites and ceremonies may be changed from time to time with changed circumstances But these are only the فُروُعَات of Religion, the outward husk, and not the kernel. In the fullness of time the husk falls away from the perfected grain, because, if it did not, instead of being a help, as it was at first, it would in time become a hindrance to its growth and development. This rejection of the husk, however, is not a change of the original plan, nor is it in contradiction to it, though it may seem to the thoughtless to be so. It is really a continuance of growth, a step forward in the development and accomplishment of the Creator's all-wise plan. In the same way when a boy first begins to go to school, he must every day study the alphabet, and do his best to copy sentences written out in a fair hand by his master. He must comply with all the rules of the school with regard to the hour of coming and the time of going, and with all the other regulations made for the maintenance of discipline. But these rules are not an end in themselves: they are only means to an end. After a time, when the pupil has obtained a good education, the observance of these rules is no longer necessary for him, nor need he any longer attend the school. Yet the rules of grammar have not been altered, nor can he dispense with the letters of the alphabet when he goes on to College or to the University, though it is no longer necessary for him to copy them many times a day, as he did when he first went to school. It cannot be said that the requirements of learning and education are changeable and contradictory, because change of circumstances has enabled the scholar to advance from the observances which, though once helpful to him, would waste his time and hinder his progress if he were to persevere in them when he had reached a more advanced stage in learning. In this great School of the World, similarly, Reason teaches us that God the All-Wise does not wish His pupils to remain always learning and repeating the very alphabet of

Theology, always carefully observing the same ceremonial rites, and never making any progress in the Knowledge of their Creator, who made the world in order that He might be known.

As the books which the elementary school pupils use are superseded by those employed in the higher classes, in the College, in the University, and yet there is no contradiction of meaning or change of purpose, so it is possible that earlier parts of the True Revelation (those relating to forms and ceremonies) may be superseded by more advanced portions, by books of deeper spiritual teaching. Yet, just as the rules of grammar are not changed or abrogated as the student makes progress in learning, so also the Moral Law and the great fundamental principles of true Religion and the truths of Revelation are not altered or annulled as God continues to educate the pupils in His school. Again, a series of Prophets may be sent, one after another, as teachers in God's school, and each successive Prophet may be able to lead men further in the knowledge of the Most High than his predecessor could. The gradual Revelation thus given may in this way vary, in the sense that it advances from degree to degree in sublimity. Yet it is contrary to reason to fancy that, when the pupils have learnt the sciences and arts taught in the highest classes, a new teacher will come, who will insist on their abandoning all this, and learning the alphabet again.

Hence we perceive that there must be no real contradiction or opposition to one another in the doctrines of the True Revelation: and yet there must be gradual progress in the revelation of the Knowledge of God, not retrogression.

VI. No book or Prophet can possibly reveal God Most High fully to men. Prophets and inspired books may teach men very much about God. They may reveal to us His commandments, His Will, His glorious Attributes, but they cannot themselves bring men to a personal knowledge of God Himself. The King's