who had picked up a few pebbles on the beach, while the great ocean of truth lay undiscovered before him.

Genuine merit is always modest. The truly great man is ever the most humble. He is aware that for everything he can do there are a hundred things he cannot do; that for everything he knows there are a thousand he does not know; and that if he is possessed of some good qualities, there are others he lacks. Ignorance alone is vain and boastful. It is the empty ear of grain that proudly holds up its head; when filled, it bends modestly downward.

The great charm of all power is modesty. The pomposity of many people is an attempt to impose upon the world by passing for more than they are worth. It is due to fear that they will receive no more attention than their scanty merits deserve. Cheek is not an "infirmity of noble minds," but afflicts only persons of inferior powers. It deserves to fail as it usually does. Brag, at the best, can be but a very brief substitute for ability. Brass makes a bigger noise than gold, but it is gold men are after, and they commonly know it when they see it. In the long run, every man passes at his true worth. To try to pass for a person of greater importance or ability than you really are, is not only absurd, but also dishonest. It implies deceit, as well as conceit, and is therefore a fatal defect in any character. True merit cannot be hid, and needs not to sound a trumpet before it. If there is anything in you, depend upon it somebody is going to find it out. If there is nothing in you, you cannot by swagger and bluster cheat the world into believing that there is.

Avoid brag; it will bring you down in the eyes of those whose good opinion you most desire. Cultivate simplicity in action and in conversation. Promise little, perform much. Neither talk loud nor dress loud. Modesty is beauty's crown, admirable alike in old and young. It adds a grace to every virtue, and furnishes the finest setting in which ability of any kind may shine.

True Nobility.

REV. HENRY A. BUTTZ, D.D., LL.D.,

President of Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, New York.

HE highest eulogy which can be paid to anyone is to say that he is noble. It is comprehensive of all the virtues and

of all the graces. There is no one word representing character and esteem which is so all-embracing. There are some words for which no adequate definition seems possible. The feeling of their meaning is deeper than any impression which language is able to convey. Such a word is nobility. If one were to attempt the substitution of some other word for it, such as goodness, benevolence, justice, he will find that neither separately nor collectively do they fully express its meaning. It can only be stated by circumlocution, and even then inadequately.

It is first of all a feeling. The appeal which is made to a noble person is answered almost before it is presented, because his consciousness of the needs of others is so acute that the meaning is comprehended intuitively. Nobility is the expression, not of the intellect so much as of the soul, not merely of the mind but of the heart. It is often, indeed generally, expressed in the face, for a really noble person, however much he may strive to do so, cannot conceal from others the benevolence which controls his life.

The nobility of feeling involves sympathy with all that is true and good. It is the condition of a person who looks with dissatisfaction upon everything low and degrading and is conscious of entire harmony with that which is elevated and pure. Such feelings have animated all those who have been recognized among the choice characters of the world.

Then there is also nobility of character. The feeling has become habit, and forms what is known among men as character. It is not a mere emotion, but a mode of life in which all the powers and attainments are subordinated to the highest aims and plans. The noble character finds itself so intrenched in desires for the welfare of all, that temptations in the opposite direction cease to be effective. In other words, his whole being has become ennobled.

Nobility of feeling and character are always accompanied by nobility of action. Character and action are harmonious, and cannot be in conflict. There may be good actions performed spasmodically or as the result of impulse by those whose souls are not noble, but a steady, sustained life, doing noble deeds, is only possible when connected with those emotions and conditions which naturally and necessarily produce them. A life that is noble is always the result of inner forces and not of external incitements. The topic under consideration is not merely nobility, but true nobility. This word is employed by lexicographers and in literature in different senses. It is applied to nobility of descent, i. e., to hereditary nobility, in which the title descends from generation to generation. It is a title of rank and has no necessary relation to personal character. While some such noblemen have true nobility, there are others to whom it is entirely wanting. There have been men of loftiest worth who have worn the highest crowns of rank or station, while others who are officially designated by such titles have shown themselves unworthy to wear theirs. Of Lord Byron it may be said that he was a great poet and a nobleman, but not a noble man, while of Lord Shaftesbury it must be said that he was alike noble in rank, in character, and in works, thus combining in himself the highest qualities of manhood.

The real nobility, however, has already been indicated, viz., that which consists in personal worth. One may be truly noble, and recognized as such though destitute of learning, scholarship, office, or rank. Indeed, it is frequently found in

persons of the humblest worldly circumstances. Almost every day we read of acts worthy of heroes, done by those whose names are scarcely known in the community in which they dwell. Instances to justify this statement will meet daily the readers of current literature.

The qualities then which must be sought in order to secure true nobility are a lofty purpose, deep sympathies, and absolute self-sacrifice. Neither is sufficient without the others. What then is the purpose which must enter into and constitute a noble life? It must be both general and particular. It desires to make the best of the whole world and the best of each member of society. It, however, must save the whole by saving each part of it. It serves the whole society by serving the units of which it is composed. Hence nobility does not neglect little things or to do good in what seems small and insignificant ways. Nothing is too small and nothing is too large for a noble soul to do. In statesmanship and patriotism both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were truly noble. How lofty their aims, how earnestly they sympathized with struggling humanity and how unselfish and complete were their sacrifices!

How much nobility is found among business men! How many are doing business, not for their own aggrandizement, but to benefit their fellow men! A gentleman of extensive business told the writer of this but recently that he did not expect to make any more money. What he made hereafter was for others.

The same is true also in professional life. In the ministry, in law, in medicine, are to be found men, not a few, whose aim is not wealth or fame, but who desire to serve "their generation according to the will of God." It were easy to make a catalogue of men and women in all ages who represent to the world this type of character. They are the choicest treasures of our world, more precious than mines of gold and of silver. To enumerate even a few of them would be impossible here.

The one noble character which rises above all others is the

world's Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the highest specimen of true nobility the world has ever known. Every trait illustrating it was found in him and the attainment of it will be best secured by the study of his life and teachings and the imitation of his example.

True nobility is possible to all and everywhere. It matters little whether one be in public position, or in private station, in a royal palace or in a humble cottage, in professional life or in daily manual labor. There is no place where it will not have opportunity for exercise. Wherever generosity, purity, selfsacrifice, truth, and fidelity are found, there will be found that for which all the people of the world should seek, true nobility.

"Be noble! and the nobleness that lies

In other men, sleeping, but never dead,

Will rise in majesty to meet thine own."-Lowell.

"Be noble in every thought and in every deed."-LONGFELLOW.