a success.

the evidence not of stupidity, but of a vast inert power. As soon as he had a real opportunity, and was thrown on his own resources, he began to develop enterprise, determination, invention, and the most irresistible strength of purpose. He wrote and published several novels which were dead failures; but, undiscouraged, he went on till he achieved Meanwhile he worked steadily in his business, and proved himself capable and useful in the post-office. The Latin language, which had defeated him at school, he attacked in manhood, and mastered it so well as to be able to read Latin books with pleasure. In this case we have an example of the law of inert force in the soul; powers hard to set in motion, but acquiring great momentum when once exerted.

But now you may ask, "How shall we change

this inertia into active force? We have seen that a good resolution is not enough; a single effort is not enough. How shall those who find it hard to overcome mental torpor and moral sluggishness, weak purposes, bad habits, succeed in changing these into a forward and upward movement? What shall make us grow up, in all things, into the beautiful, the good, the true?"

The first step, evidently, is taken, when we feel the need of being different from what we are. So long as we are self-satisfied, there can be no progress. Plants grow without an effort, but the growth of the human soul requires the longing for something better,

or what a German poet calls "extraordinary, generous seeking." The old theology called this longing "the sense of sin," and considered it necessary to true conversion. Jesus calls it "a hunger and thirst after righteousness," -which I think is a larger definition. But it is plain that in some form this is the first step. We shall never improve much as long as we think we are good enough already.

The next step of moral progress is that of purpose, resolve, determination. But that this may not be a barren purpose or empty resolution, it ought to be taken, not in doubt or fear, but with hope and confidence. In order to succeed in anything, we must expect to succeed. We need hope; hope is the great motor in all progress. "But hope which is seen is not hope;" that is, our hope must have some motive beyond anything we already see in ourselves. And the great source of this hope is that which others have for us, - others wiser and better than we. The mightiest help we can give to others in an upward course is to hope for them. When the wise and good, out of a larger and deeper experience than ours, knowing all our faults, yet hope for us, then we begin to hope for ourselves.

The power of Christianity seems largely to consist in this, that it has given mankind a great hope. Christ was a revelation of God's purpose for his children. The New Testament is full of hope. While it shows the evil of sin, it always inspires a spirit of courage. It tells sinners that God has

chosen them from the foundation of the world to be pure and holy in Christ Jesus. It moves men not by the fear of hell, but by the hope of heaven. Sin and evil are the dark background to a sunny landscape where light and love shine with heavenly radiance. The New Testament shows us an infinite tenderness in God to every child whom he has made; a love which nothing can weary. It calls us out of darkness into a marvellous light; out of sin into holiness, generosity, purity, love. It makes us feel that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. So we find in the gospel this double power, truth, which shows us what we ought to be; love, which shows us that we can be what we ought, and that we can do all things through the power given to us by God.

The law of vis inertia implies that where there is the most power at last, there is the most difficulty at first. We cannot, then, expect that this great Christian faith in God, goodness, immortality, heaven, is to come without effort and struggle. We do not acquire this power of faith by reading a few books of theology, or by a process of reasoning. It grows up by a long experience; it is developed by a continued discipline. As life goes on, our faith ought to grow deeper every year. We first believe in God and Christ and the future life because these seem reasonable beliefs. But as we live in them and from them they become more and more real and certain. We learn by degrees to feel the presence

of God in Nature and in our own soul; we learn by degrees to have more and more faith in Christ as our great helper; we learn to pray more and more in spirit and truth. The prayer of form is easy; the prayer of faith is one of the greatest efforts of which the human mind is capable.

The law of inertia, therefore, seems to apply, not only in the physical order, but in the moral and spiritual order too. If we ask what is its good and what its evil, we have reached the result that it is wholly good. It helps us to keep what we gain; it preserves the moral and spiritual forces of the universe. It is the secret of progress. It is the condition of the great ascent of man from earth to heaven, from good to better, from imperfect truth and goodness to that which is unchanging and eternal.