hungry, never-satisfied demon, and is nearest of anything on earth to the great fire bodies in the sky.

XXX. Dualism, or Belief in Two Gods.

Man, as he came to think more and more about things, and not to be simply frightened into an unreasoning worship of living and dead objects, lessened still further the number of ruling powers, and seemed to see two mighty gods fighting for mastery over himself and the universe.

On the one hand was a powe r that appeared to dwell in the calm, unclouded blue, and with kind and loving heart to scatter welcome gifts upon men; on the other hand was a power that appeared to be harsh and cruel, that lashed the sea into fury, covered earth and sky with blackness, swept man's home and crops away in torrent and in tempest, chilled him with icy hand, and gave his children to the beast of prey. One a god of light, smiling in the sunbeam; the other a god of darkness, scowling in the thundercloud; one ruling by

good and gentle spirits, the other by fierce and evil spirits.

This belief in a good god opposed and fought against by a bad god became so deeply rooted that no religion is quite free from it, for it seemed to man the only explanation of the hurt and evil whose power he felt.

But it is not true that the Almighty God in whom we are taught to believe is checked and hindered by another power. If He were, He would cease to be all-mighty, and we should have to pray to the evil power and beseech. him not to hurt us.

The sin which is in the world, and about which your own heart tells you, has its birth in the will of man, which God in His sovereign wisdom has created free. Instead of making us as mere machines that cannot go wrong, He has given us the awful power of doing either good or evil, and thus of showing our love to Him by choosing what He loves and doing the things that are pleasing in His sight. However anxious we may be, as man has so often been, to cast the blame of wrongdoing on another,

the sins which we commit are our own wilful work. This we know to be true because it is declared by that Voice within each of us which does not lie, and which is the voice of the holy God.

If we have power to break God's commandments, but not power to keep them, or if some unseen force, stronger than ourselves, is allowed to drive us into evil, we could not have that sense of guilt which ever follows sinning, because we should feel that the fault was not all our own, and that we should be wronged in being punished for what we could not help. Then that saddest of all states-distrust of God, distrust of His voice within-would be ours.

But leaving this matter for a while, I have hitherto said little about the way in which man would seek to express his feelings towards the gods in which he believed, be they few or many, good or bad. One way was by praying to them, another way by offering sacrifice to them.

XXXI. Prayer.

To cry for help when we are in danger is our first act; to ask for what we want from those who seem able and willing to give it is both natural and right. Thus man prayed to his gods, and prays still, for to the end of time the deep long cry of mankind to Heaven will continue. And rude and hideous as may be the idol to which the poor savage tells his story of need or sorrow, we must, remember, stand in awe as we think of the soul within him that hungers for its food, even as the body hungers, and that yearns after the unseen God whom we call our Father in Heaven. Of course he prays in his ignorance for many weak and foolish things, to grant which would be really hurtful to him. In this he is like children who ask their parents for something which those parents know is not good for them, and who think themselves badly treated because they are denied it.

As man gets more thoughtful and trustful, he prays for better gifts than the things which

perish, and, telling his wants and troubles to the All-wise Being, leaves it to Him to send whatever He may choose.

"in His decision rest,

Secure whate'er He gives, He gives the best."

XXXII. Sacrifice.

The reason for offering sacrifices is explained by man's dealings with his fellow-man.

When we feel that we have vexed our friends, or that for some cause they are angry with us, our first desire is to remove the anger by an offering of some kind; while towards those whom we love and feel grateful for their kindness, we show our love and thanks by gifts.

In this way, sacrifices or offerings to idols, and to the seen and unseen powers of good and evil, began, and have continued in different forms among all nations to the present day: one sacrifice being offered from a feeling of thanksgiving, another as a bribe to quiet or appease the gods thought to be angry, and who, being looked upon very often as big men,