Chapter 16

[12]Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

[13]Decrease.

CHURCHES, DEAD

There is a Scandinavian tradition which tells of seven parishes of the Northland that lie buried under snow and ice, but whose church-bells are heard ringing clearly.

May not churches ring their bells and maintain all the forms of life, and yet lie buried under the snow and ice of death? (Text.)

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Table No. 6—Church Property—Gain by Decades. (SeeChurch Statistics.)

CHURCHES, SELFISH

Most churches are religious cisterns instead of spiritual reservoirs. A cistern has all the trenches dug, the pipes laid, the roofs shaped to catch the showers of the favoring sky, and the water runs into it to be dipped out by the owner or occupant of the building, for the purpose of consumption. A reservoir has streams running into it, but all its trenches are dug and pipes laid in order that the water shall flow away from it, for the purpose of distribution.—Theodore S. Henderson.

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CIGARET SMOKING

Cigaret smoking is the most dangerous form in which tobacco can be used, because combustion goes on so near the mouth that all the products of burning are drawn into the mouth without change and are absorbed by the blood-vessels and carried to the brain. In the pipe and cigar many of the products from burning are condensed in the stem of the pipe and body of the cigar, and never reach the mouth. In the cigaret these poison products, small in amount, are constantly taken by the blood-vessels of the mouth and affect the senses. The sight, the smell and the hearing are all diminished and enfeebled, later the power of reason and muscular control. No form of tobacco is so cumulative in its action as the products from cigaret smoking; the quantity is small, the absorption is more rapid, and the resistance by nature is less active. The cigaret-smoker is slowly and surely poisoning himself, and is largely unconscious of it. In the young the poisoning is very acute and active; in elderly persons it is less prominent, but that it is equally dangerous, in the effects on the nerves, on the brain and on the senses, enfeebling them and destroying their activity, is beyond all question. The pipe- or cigar-smoker may not seem much worse for his addiction, but the cigaret-smoker is always markedly damaged by it.—T. D. Crothers.

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CIRCULATION IMPEDED

The moral and spiritual circulation, the free action of life-forces in character, may be checked and impeded as well as the physical forces, as described below:

From the experiments of Scharling, Gerlach, and others, it has been shown that appreciable quantities of carbonic acid gas are hourly exhaled by the skin. If this process of cutaneous respiration is absolutely interrupted, as by covering the skin with varnish, death follows very soon, the heart and lungs becoming gorged with blood, as in ordinary cases of asphyxiation. In ignorance of this physiological fact, certain monks in the middle ages gilded the skin of a young lad who was to represent an angel (angels being understood, it would seem, to have golden skin); but he did not live through the performance of the “mystery” or “morality” in which he had to play his angelic part. Even if the body be inclosed, all but the head, in a water-proof covering, asphyxiation follows. Some, indeed, present themselves in public gatherings, not within the walls of lunatic asylums, either, with the respiratory, circulatory, and perspiratory organs manifestly obstructed, and, in fact, with the whole economy of the body from head to foot hampered obviously to the eye by powder, paint, enamel, corset, tight gloves, tight shoes, and goodness knows what other contrivances for checking all the processes and movements for whose perfect freedom of action nature has carefully provided. These may, perhaps, be best explained as cases of reversion to the ways of savage progenitors.—R. A. Proctor,Syndicate Letter.

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CIRCUMSTANCES

Circumstances mold character, but character masters circumstances. No true life anywhere needs despair because its surroundings are uncongenial or depressing. A writer finds this lesson in the first flowers of spring, of which he says:

But among what uncongenial surroundings these new flowers have come! Gray, sunless skies, chilling winds, the frosts, the lingering traces of the snow—these are the things which the new flowers see with their opening eyes; courageous flowers indeed to creep forth into a wintry world like this!

If these flowers can brave the trials of the winds and cold and sullen sky, and still smile upon the sun, so can human lives, however bare and difficult their lot.

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CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND CONTROL

One of the strangest stories of false imprisonment comes from France. A woman was sentenced to imprisonment for life for having caused the death of her husband and brother. The three had lived together at Malaunay, near Rouen, in a cottage. The lower part of it was used as a shop. When the woman was sent to prison, other people occupied the shop, but the new tenants suffered, the man from fainting fits, his wife from nausea, from which she died. Another couple tried their fortune, but they, too, were overcome by the “spell of the accurst place,” as they supposed. They were subject to fainting and loss of memory. At last a scientific examination of the premises was made. Then it was found that adjoining the shop was a lime-kiln. In a wall dividing it from the cottage were many fissures, so that whenever lime was burned monoxide of carbon escaped into the inn. This was the secret of the deaths for which the woman was suffering. She was brought out of prison after six years of servitude.

While we should not put the blame for our sins on circumstances, we should remember that much which we condemn as sin would, if we understood it, be excused as due to circumstances that involve no blame.

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Circumstances, Making the Best of—SeeConservation of Remainders.

CIRCUMSTANCES, MASTERY BY

Genius levels mountains, spans rivers, causes wildernesses to blossom, links together with electric chains the ends of the earth. The gifted man cares not for difficulties; like a mountain torrent, he gains momentum from every obstacle; a master athlete, he throws the world. Masters of circumstance in many directions, but how soon we succumb to circumstance when it relates to character! He who is triumphantly strong in other directions is helpless here; he who heroically and magnificently succeeds in fortune ignobly fails in morals. He who successfully battles with circumstances to become a scholar is vanquished by fleshly desires; he who becomes rich in the teeth of circumstances is then mastered and degraded by his riches; he who surmounts circumstances to become great, immediately falls a victim to luxury and pride. Men make a grand fight with a circumstance in the kingdoms of nature and society, but a sorry light with circumstances as these menace the kingdom of the spirit; they fail most where it is exactly most desirable that they should succeed.—W. L. Watkinson, “The Transfigured Sackcloth.”

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CIRCUMSTANCES NOT DECISIVE

The danger of circumstantial evidence is illustrated by the French trial of a maidservant for robbery of some forks from a citizen of Paris. At the trial the circumstances were so strong against her that she was found guilty, and was executed. Six months afterward the forks were found under an old roof, behind a heap of tiles, where a magpie used to go. When it was discovered that the innocent girl had been unjustly condemned, an annual mass was founded at St. John-en-Grese for the repose of her soul.—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”

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CIRCUMSTANCES, SUPERIORITY TO

R. H. Haweis tells the following of a celebrated violinist:

Leghorn received him with open arms, altho his appearance was marked by an amusing contretemps. He came on to the stage limping, having run a nail into his heel. At all times odd-looking, he, no doubt,looked all the more peculiar under these circumstances, and there was some tittering among the audience. Just as he began, the candles fell out of his desk—more laughter. He went on playing; the first string broke—more laughter. He played the rest of the concerto through on three strings, but the laughter now changed to vociferous applause at this feat. The beggarly elements seemed of little consequence to this magician. One or more strings, it was all the same to him; indeed, it is recorded that he seldom paused to mend his strings when they broke, which they not infrequently did.

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CIRCUMSTANCES, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF

A well-known lawyer related a good story about himself and his efforts to correct the manners of his office boy:

One morning not long ago, the young autocrat blew into the office, and, tossing his cap at a hook, exclaimed:“Say, Mr. Blank, there’s a ball-game down at the park to-day and I am going down.”Now, the attorney is not a hard-hearted man, and was willing the boy should go, but thought he would teach him a little lesson in good manners.“Jimmie,” he said, “that isn’t the way to ask a favor. Now, you come over here and sit down, and I’ll show you how to do it.”The boy took the office chair, and his employer picked up his cap and stept outside. He then opened the door softly, and holding the cap in his hand, said, quietly, to the small boy in the big chair:“Please, sir, there is a ball-game at the park to-day; if you can spare me I would like to get away for the afternoon.”In a flash the boy responded:“Why, certainly, Jimmie; and here is fifty cents to pay your way in.” (Text.)

One morning not long ago, the young autocrat blew into the office, and, tossing his cap at a hook, exclaimed:

“Say, Mr. Blank, there’s a ball-game down at the park to-day and I am going down.”

Now, the attorney is not a hard-hearted man, and was willing the boy should go, but thought he would teach him a little lesson in good manners.

“Jimmie,” he said, “that isn’t the way to ask a favor. Now, you come over here and sit down, and I’ll show you how to do it.”

The boy took the office chair, and his employer picked up his cap and stept outside. He then opened the door softly, and holding the cap in his hand, said, quietly, to the small boy in the big chair:

“Please, sir, there is a ball-game at the park to-day; if you can spare me I would like to get away for the afternoon.”

In a flash the boy responded:

“Why, certainly, Jimmie; and here is fifty cents to pay your way in.” (Text.)

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CITIZENSHIP IN THE KINGDOM

In writing of the Polish women, one author tells how they perform a man’s labor of sowing, tilling and reaping in the field. Their work is preferred to that of men because it is better and cheaper. They work for German land-owners and receive free transportation by the government. Altho they are said to frequently marry Germans, they do not lose their identity, nationality or character.Every church-member should be a citizen of the kingdom of Heaven. He should make its interests his interests and identify himself so closely with Christ, and show forth His life so that all would know that his nationality was of heaven; and his character Christ-like. (Text.)

Every church-member should be a citizen of the kingdom of Heaven. He should make its interests his interests and identify himself so closely with Christ, and show forth His life so that all would know that his nationality was of heaven; and his character Christ-like. (Text.)

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CITY, A HOLY

It would not be expected anywhere that New York would be called a holy city, and yet that is what it was recently called by a convert in one of its mission halls. A correspondent of the New YorkTribunegives an account of a meeting he attended on a recent Sunday evening in a gospel mission hall at No. 330 Eighth Avenue. A man with a pronounced foreign accent told the story of his life at this meeting. At the age of eighteen, he said, shortly after his arrival at a German university, because of some fancied slight he was challenged to fight a duel with one of his fellow students. In self-defense he killed the man, and from that day had borne the sorrows of a homicide. Drink had the mastery over him and he was far gone in dissipation when he was shipped to Canada, where he still continued a life of dissipation. To improve his business chances he came to New York and took up residence in the Young Men’s Christian Association Building in Twenty-third Street. Said the speaker: “A good many talk about the wickedness of New York. I call it a holy city, because in that little room, No. 653, in the Young Men’s Christian Association Building, I lost the weight of sin which had been pressing my life out for years and entered a new life in which the past was blotted out.” Several months have passed and the speaker has been led into new evidences of divine favor and usefulness. This case illustrates the familiar fact that one can find what he is looking for almost anywhere, especially in a large city. If he is looking for a saloon or any form of evil he will have little trouble in finding it, but if he wants to find a church or some form of good, it will be found near at hand. A holy man is holy anywhere, and to him even New York is a holy city.—Presbyterian Banner.

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City Children—SeeChildren and Gardens.

CITY, GROWTH OF A GREAT

The growth of population in the area now covered by Greater New York is shown thus inThe Tribune:

The following interesting figures are given by the Washington correspondent ofThe Times:

New York now has a population greater than many of the countries of the world, for instance, Australia in 1908 had within its borders 4,275,306 persons, exclusive of the aborigines, while Ireland (1909) had a population of 4,374,158. Bulgaria in 1908 showed a census return of 4,158,409, and Denmark and Greece, respectively, had 2,659,000 and 2,632,000 subjects of their kings. Norway in the same year was populated by 2,350,786 persons, and Switzerland by 3,559,000.The figures in the cut above exhibit fifty years of New York’s expansion.

The figures in the cut above exhibit fifty years of New York’s expansion.

The fifteen largest cities of the world, each having more than one million population are as follows:

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Cities and Atmospheric Impurities—SeeSoot.

Cities Due to Discoveries—SeeDiscovery, Benefits from.

City versus Country—SeeSociety is Man’s Place.

Civic Pride—SeeChildren and Civic Service.

Civic Strength—SeeGreatness, True, of a City.

CIVICS

It is said that one day recently a committee from a certain college investigated the Jacob Riis Settlement on the East Side of New York and made the criticism that civics were not taught. “I’ll show you how I teach them,” said Riis. “I noticed that the Jews and Irish did not get on together, soI had a straight talk with the leaders and told them they must do something. In a short time this notice appeared on the bulletin board: ‘Come to the Meeting of the Young American Social and Political Club, Dennis O’Sullivan, President; Abraham Browsky, Vice-President.’ That,” answered Riis, “is my way of teaching civics.” And it is a way we should not neglect to follow. (Text.)—The American College.

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Civilization—SeeKnowledge Values.

Civilization Advancing—SeeAdvancement, Rapid.

CIVILIZED MAN AND SAVAGE

A savage who had been shipwrecked in a river may note certain things which serve him as signs of danger in the future. But civilized man deliberately makes such signs; he sets up in advance of wreckage warning buoys, and builds lighthouses where he sees signs that such events may occur. A savage reads weather signs with great expertness; civilized man institutes a weather service by which signs are artificially secured and information is distributed in advance of the appearance of any signs that could be detected without special methods. A savage finds his way skilfully through a wilderness by reading certain obscure indications; civilized man builds a highway which shows the road to all. The savage learns to detect the signs of fire and thereby to invent methods of producing flame; civilized man invents permanent conditions for producing light and heat just whenever they are needed.—John Dewey, “How We Think.”

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CLAIM, GOD’S

When the late Earl Cairns was a little boy he heard three words which made a memorable impression upon him, “God claims you.” Then came the question, “What am I going to do with the claim?” He answered, “I will own it, and give myself to God.” He went home and told his mother, “God claims me.” At school and college his motto was, “God claims me.” As a member of Parliament, and ultimately as lord chancellor, it was still, “God claims me.” When he was appointed lord chancellor he was teacher of a large Bible class, and his minister, thinking that now he would not have time to devote to that purpose, said to him, “I suppose you will now require to give up your class?” “No,” was the reply, “I will not; God claims me.” (Text.)

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Clamor versus Balance—SeeConfidence.

CLASSICS, STUDY OF

If I could have my way, every young man who is going to be a newspaper man, and who is not absolutely rebellious against it, should learn Greek and Latin after the good old fashion. I had rather take a young fellow who knows the Ajax of Sophocles, and who has read Tacitus, and can scan every ode of Horace; I would rather take him to report a prize-fight or a spelling-match, for instance, than to take one who has never had those advantages.—Charles A. Dana.

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CLEANLINESS

At Minot’s Ledge lighthouse all “bright work” must be cleaned every morning—lens, lamps, etc. So also all inside copper pots and tin-pans. The inspector comes every three months unannounced, and is handed by the keeper a white linen towel or napkin, and he goes over these bright things. Then he enters the item in his diary: “Service napkin not soiled.”

A man should live such a cleanly moral life that nothing around him can suffer pollution as he uses it. (Text.)

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Cleansing—SeePurity of Associations.

Cleansing a Necessity—SeeDiscipline from Change.

Cleansing by Agitation—SeeDiscipline from Change.

CLEANSING, DIFFICULTY OF

It is impossible for the guilty soul to emancipate itself from the consciousness of sin. Dr. Seedham-Green, in his work on “The Sterilization of the Hands,” proves the absolute impossibility of cleansing the hands from bacteria:

Simple washing with soap and hot water, with use of sand or marble dust, however energetically done, does not materially diminish the number of microbes; the mechanical purification is practically useless. Turpentine, benzoline, xylol, alcoholic disinfection, and various antiseptics equally fail to render the hands surgically clean. (Text.)

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CLEANSING THE FOUNTAIN

Sam P. Jones used to tell of a man down in the spring branch trying to clear the water, so that he could get a clear drink. This man was doing all he could to filter the water, when some friend called out to him: “Stranger, come up a little higher and run that hog out of that spring, and it will clear itself.”

Unless life’s sources are clean, it is of little use to labor with external conduct.

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Climates, Different—SeeEnvironment, Creating Our Own.

Climbing—SeeAspiration;Steps Upward.

CLINGING BY FAITH

There is a little limpet that is found clinging to the rocks along the coast; if you crawl up stealthily and hit one a heavy blow, you may detach it; but after you have struck the rock it is almost impossible to loosen the grasp of another limpet. These little limpets are good for nothing but to cling; but they do that with an awful tenacity. That’s what limpets are for—simply to cling. Oh, that we just knew how to cling to God by faith—nothing more, nothing less.—Bradford V. Bauder.

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CLUB WISDOM

Recently a traveler in Scotland, standing upon a mountain cliff overlooking the sea, found himself in great danger. It seems that the gardener desired to beautify even the steep cliffs and precipices. Loading his double-barreled shot-gun with seeds of flowers and vines, he fired the seeds up into the crevices of the rocks.Not otherwise, for men and women who have a few moments for rest between hour, has life become dangerous. To-day, one can scarcely turn round the street corner without running into the president of some new culture club, who straightway empties into the victim two volleys of talk about some wisdom, old or new. The old shot-gun is less dangerous than the new club.—Newell Dwight Hillis.

Not otherwise, for men and women who have a few moments for rest between hour, has life become dangerous. To-day, one can scarcely turn round the street corner without running into the president of some new culture club, who straightway empties into the victim two volleys of talk about some wisdom, old or new. The old shot-gun is less dangerous than the new club.—Newell Dwight Hillis.

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CLUES

Life would be simplified and made safe if men, like spiders, would always allow their life plans to be dominated by the clue that comes from above.

A great principle never forgotten by the spider is that she must always spin behind her a thread that will enable her to find again the points that she has left; this serves at once as her guiding thread for return, and as the road on which she travels. A consequence of this rule is that the starting-point, the center of the first operations, must be at the top of the web, and often higher still, so as to dominate the whole. From this point the explorer lets herself down, suspended from her inseparable thread, balances herself, and if she does not find the sought-for point, climbs back along the thread which she absorbs in ascending. (Text.)—Maurice Koechlin,La Nature.

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COCAINE RESTRICTIONS

One of the best laws ever enacted in New York State is the bill just signed by Governor Hughes which declares any person having cocaine upon his person, unless secured upon the prescription of a physician, and having a certificate from the druggist from whom he purchased the drug, guilty of a felony. This new law, which is directed against men who financially profit by the diseased appetites of victims of cocaine, will, according to health and police officials, sound the death-knell of the promiscuous sale of the most deadly of drugs. Chief Inspector Fuller, of the New York Health Department, says: “With this law on the statute-books I can promise that with the staff of inspectors I have at my disposal I will wipe out this most vicious evil. The jails are yawning for these criminals who are making fiends out of the New York boys and girls. This law will make possible the placing of those criminals behind the prison bars. Many a mother and sister will to-day rejoice, upon reading of this new law. It will perhaps mean the saving of their boy or girl from death itself. No one is more pleased with this law than myself and my inspectors, who have been fighting night and day to suppress the evil.”—Christian Work.

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Cocksureness—SeeSelf-centered.

COINCIDENCE

From Czenstochowa, the Mecca of Polish pilgrims, comes a story of coincidences. A pilgrim went to one of the priests and complained that some thief had stolen his pursewhile he was in church, and asked for money. The priest replied that he had no money and that the best thing for the pilgrim to do was to try to find the thief. “I shall go into the church and steal money from somebody else,” said the pilgrim, “for I have nothing to go home with.” He went into the church and seeing a man in the crowd with a wallet on his back slipt his hand into it and pulled out his own stolen purse, with the exact sum he had left in it. He was so glad to find his money that he hurried off to tell the priest and the thief got away.

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SeeCriminals, Tracing.

COINCIDENCE AND SUPERSTITION

The German Emperor recently made an interesting presentation to the Hohenzollern Museum. It consists of the “death-dice,” by the help of which one of the Emperor’s ancestors decided a difficult case in the seventeenth century. How they came to be known as the “death-dice” is thus related by the LondonTatler:

A beautiful young girl had been murdered, and suspicion fell on two soldiers, Ralph and Alfred, who were rival suitors for her hand. As both prisoners denied their guilt, and even torture failed to exact a confession from either, Prince Frederick William, the Kaiser’s ancestor, decided to cut the Gordian knot with the dice-box. The two soldiers should throw for their lives, the loser to be executed as the murderer. The event was celebrated with great pomp and solemnity, and the Prince himself assisted at this appeal to divine intervention, as it was considered by everybody, including the accused themselves.Ralph was given the first throw, and he threw sixes, the highest number, and no doubt felt jubilant. The dice-box was then given to Alfred, who fell on his knees and prayed aloud: “Almighty God, thou knowest I am innocent. Protect me, I beseech thee!” Rising to his feet, he threw the dice with such force that one of them broke in two. The unbroken one showed six, the broken one also showed six on the larger portion, and the bit that had been split off showed one, giving a total of thirteen, or one more than the throw of Ralph. The whole audience thrilled with astonishment, while the Prince exclaimed, “God has spoken!” Ralph, regarding the miracle as a sign from heaven, confest his guilt, and was sentenced to death. (Text.)

Ralph was given the first throw, and he threw sixes, the highest number, and no doubt felt jubilant. The dice-box was then given to Alfred, who fell on his knees and prayed aloud: “Almighty God, thou knowest I am innocent. Protect me, I beseech thee!” Rising to his feet, he threw the dice with such force that one of them broke in two. The unbroken one showed six, the broken one also showed six on the larger portion, and the bit that had been split off showed one, giving a total of thirteen, or one more than the throw of Ralph. The whole audience thrilled with astonishment, while the Prince exclaimed, “God has spoken!” Ralph, regarding the miracle as a sign from heaven, confest his guilt, and was sentenced to death. (Text.)

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COINCIDENCE, REMARKABLE

Shortly after Robert Louis Stevenson published his curious psychological story of transformation, a friend of mine, called Mr. Hyde, was in the north of London, and being anxious to get to a railway station, he took what he thought was a short cut, lost his way and found himself in a network of mean, evil-looking streets. Feeling rather nervous he was walking extremely fast, when suddenly out of an archway ran a child right between his legs. The child fell on the pavement, he tript over it, and trampled upon it. Being, of course, very much frightened and not a little hurt, it began to scream, and in a few seconds the whole street was full of rough people who kept pouring out of the houses like ants. They surrounded him and asked him his name. He was just about to give it, when he suddenly remembered the opening incident of Mr. Stevenson’s story. He was so filled with horror at having realized in his own person that terrible scene, and at having done accidentally what the Mr. Hyde of fiction had done with deliberate intent, that he ran away as fast as he could go. He was, however, very closely followed, and he finally took refuge in a surgery, the door of which happened to be open, where he explained to a young man, apparently an assistant, who happened to be there, exactly what had occurred. The crowd was induced to go away on his giving them a small sum of money, and as soon as the coast was clear he left. As he passed out, the name on the brass door-plate of the surgery caught his eye. It was “Mr. Jekyll.”—Nineteenth Century.

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Colds—SeeVitality, Low.

Collection, Missionary—SeeCrowning Christ.

Collection, The—SeeGenerosity, Thoroughgoing.

COLLECTIVE LABOR

A certain King of Scythia, wishing to make an enumeration of the inhabitants of his realm, required every man in his dominions to send him an arrow-head. The vast collection was officially counted, and then laid together in a sort of monumental pile. This primitive mode of census-takingsuggested to Darius the idea of his cairn in his march through Thrace. Fixing upon a suitable spot near his camp, he commanded every soldier to bring a stone and place it on the pile. Of course, a vast mound arose commemorating the march and denoting, also, the countless number of soldiers that formed the expedition.

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College Men in Positions of Trust—SeeTraining.

COLLEGE OR EXPERIENCE

The following dispatch from Washington recently appeared in the New YorkSun:

Uncle Joe Cannon was in fine form to-day when he received twenty-five young men, representing the Intercollegiate League, now in session here. Uncle Joe complimented his callers on their advantages, but he told them that knowledge gained in college was of little value unless it was crossed by experience and courage.Years ago, the Speaker said that he received a degree in a law college in Indiana. He started to Chicago to make his fortune, accompanied by his diploma and $6. He was put off the train in central Illinois when his money gave out and that was why he wound up at Danville, instead of Chicago.Uncle Joe said that he hung up his diploma in his little law office and waited for clients. For six months he had little to do aside from looking at the diploma and twirling his thumbs. Finally, one day, in a fit of rage, he pulled down the diploma and destroyed it.“The diploma in itself was of no use to me,” said Uncle Joe. “I kept my courage, however, and by and by began to make my way in the world.”

Years ago, the Speaker said that he received a degree in a law college in Indiana. He started to Chicago to make his fortune, accompanied by his diploma and $6. He was put off the train in central Illinois when his money gave out and that was why he wound up at Danville, instead of Chicago.

Uncle Joe said that he hung up his diploma in his little law office and waited for clients. For six months he had little to do aside from looking at the diploma and twirling his thumbs. Finally, one day, in a fit of rage, he pulled down the diploma and destroyed it.

“The diploma in itself was of no use to me,” said Uncle Joe. “I kept my courage, however, and by and by began to make my way in the world.”

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COLLEGE TRAINING, VALUE OF

Rev. W. F. Crafts says:

I have examined the educational record of the seventy foremost men in American politics—cabinet officers, senators, congressmen, and governors of national reputation—and I find that thirty-seven of them are college graduates, that five more had a part of the college course but did not graduate, while only twenty-eight did not go to college at all. As not more than one young man in five hundred goes to college, and as this one five-hundredth of the young men furnish four-sevenths of our distinguished public officers, it appears that a collegian has seven hundred and fifty times as many chances of being an eminent governor or congressman as other young men.

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SeeTraining.

Collegiate Ambition—SeeMargins of Life.

COLLISION DUE TO LIFE

Men who never move, never run against anything; and when a man is thoroughly dead and utterly buried nothing ever runs against him. To be run against is a proof of existence and position; to run against something is a proof of motion.—Christian Standard.

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Collision, Ways of Avoiding—SeePaths, Keeping One’s Own.

COLOR-BLINDNESS

The great cause of error is imperfect vision. One says, “It looks so to me,” and therefore he concludes that it is so. He acts as if it were so. And, if he is mistaken, it may be a fatal mistake. The color-blind engineer saw the red light, but it looked green to him. He thought it was a safety signal when it was a danger signal. He went on and wrecked the train. Was he to blame? Yes, for if he could not distinguish between red and green he had no business to run a locomotive. Like him is the man who, with his prismatic eye, sees certain dogmas in the Book which God has written. He has persuaded himself that this danger signal is not red, but green. He insists that it looks so to him. Is it so, therefore, and is he safe? When we hear men talk, as we often do, about how it looks to them, and what seems reasonable to them, we can not help thinking of that color-blind engineer who wrecked his train.But what can we do with these “evil” prismatic eyes of ours? We can not change them into clear and perfect lenses by a wish, or by one earnest effort. It takes an optician a long time to shape and polish a lens. And we must be willing to work patiently and hard to undo the wrong we have done. If there is any suspicion in our hearts that our eyes are “evil,” we must not rest a moment. We must test the matter at once by a close and prayerful study of the truth.—The Interior.

But what can we do with these “evil” prismatic eyes of ours? We can not change them into clear and perfect lenses by a wish, or by one earnest effort. It takes an optician a long time to shape and polish a lens. And we must be willing to work patiently and hard to undo the wrong we have done. If there is any suspicion in our hearts that our eyes are “evil,” we must not rest a moment. We must test the matter at once by a close and prayerful study of the truth.—The Interior.

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Color, Protective, in Animals—SeeConformity.

COLORS AS EMBLEMS

Colors are emblematic; and in the middle ages were always used by the illuminators and church artists with regard to their significance. Red, blue and yellow, or gold, the primary colors; red, signifying divine love; blue, truth and constancy; gold, divine glory; when united, are supposed to be good emblems of the Holy Trinity. White, signifying light, purity, perfect righteousness, is to be used by the Church from Christmas eve to the octave of the Epiphany, symbolizing the purity of the Infant Savior; but it is not to be used on St. Stephen’s day, Holy Innocents, or Conversion of St. Paul. White, in an illuminated text, may be represented by silver. It is also the color for Maundy Thursday, Trinity Sunday, baptism, confirmation and marriage. Violet is the ecclesiastical color for mourning; it signifies passion, suffering and humility; therefore, martyrs are sometimes clothed in it. It belongs to advent, Holy Innocents (unless that feast falls on Sunday), Septuagesima to Easter eve, Rogation days, and Ember weeks. Red, the symbol of divine love and illumination (as flame) belongs to Pentecost; and as the emblem of blood shed for the Feast of the Martyrs on Whitsuntide. Blue signifies truth and constancy; when sprinkled with gold stars it signifies heaven. It is not an ecclesiastical color, but (as symbolical of heaven or truth) forms a beautiful and significant ground for a text. Green, the emblem of eternal spring, hope, immortality and conquest, is used on all Sundays. Gold or yellow signifies glory, the goodness of God, faith; it should be used on texts only for the divine name. Dingy yellow signifies deceit. Black is used only on Good Friday. It is symbolical of death and extreme grief. It is used also at funerals, frequently combined with white. Purple signifies royalty, love, passion and suffering. It is the color often worn by martyrs as well as by kings. After His resurrection Christ is sometimes represented in a purple mantle, as the symbol of His kingly power. Violet and blue are the colors of penitence, signifying sorrow and constancy. Gray signifies mourning, humility, and innocence unjustly accused.—The Decorator and Furnisher.

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SeeEmblems.

COLORS, SYMBOLIC

Havelock Ellis, writing inPopular Science Monthly, says:

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