THE GREATEST OF LINGUISTS.

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At the Roman Propaganda there are always in process of training, with a view to their becoming missionaries, young men from all the ends of the earth, and representing nearly all the races of mankind; and on the day which concludes the yearly session, it is curious to hear essays read and orations delivered in Italian, French, and English; Russ and Polish; Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic; Chinese and Hindostanee; Gaelic, Welsh, and Irish. And had you been present ten years ago, you might have heard an old man conversing fluently in every one of these, and if needful, speaking fifty languages" almost as correctly as a native." And you could not but have wondered at the prodigy; and, probably, the only explanation would have been, "Mezzofanti has been born a linguist." But Mezzofanti was born just such a linguist as the rest of us,linguists who, for the first year or two, cannot speak our mother-tongue and it was by diligently attending that, after learning his mother-tongue, he learned first Greek, and then other languages, till his one talent had gained fifty talents more.

So extended has the domain of science latterly become, that no man now has universal learning; but two hundred years ago, there were such men. And it was an august and impressive thing to look upon Bacon, or Grotius, or Selden, and think, "There is a living encyclopædia. There is a man who knows all that is knowable-a man who has taken a survey of all nature, and who has read the story of the world." And yet there was a day when that paragon of erudition knew nothing: there was a day when every page of that living encyclopædia was still blank paper: and it was by steady perseverance, stumbling over many difficulties, and denying himself many youthful indulgences— it was by bracing up the spirit, and bringing the body. under-that at last he came in the pantathlete, the victor of all fights, and the winner of every prize.

And so, youthful reader, you who are still at school or college, or who having quitted them have not yet lost the learning faculty, God invites you to a splendid heritage. You have your choice. As the subject of your study, you may select the glories overhead or the wonders under-foot,-the architecture of the starry canopy or the structure of the solid globe. You may try to investigate those mechanic or mimetic arts in which the hand of man multiplies its force in overwhelming enginery, or evokes and expresses the indwelling spirit in its painted or sculptured creations. You may prefer the treasures of beautiful thought and exquisite diction which have descended to us in the cold but pellucid page of classic authorship, like Alpine relics entombed in their crystal catacombs; or you may devote yourself to glean the wisdom and the momentous lessons for the future which come hurtling down the noisy stream of modern history. But whatever topic you select, be sure that it is worthy, then cling to it and work it well. The hour of study which the dishonest scholar spends in shamming, in gazing at a task which he is not learning, or in copying a theme which he has not composed,-do you bestow in earnest industry; and the evening hour which idle companions spend in mischief, in sport, or in needless slumber, do you employ in mastering the solid book, in writing out your abstract, or in revising former acquisitions. And thus, although you should not become a first-rate scholar or a famous sage, you will amass a fund of information which will enrich all your future years, and which, whilst embellishing every sphere you fill, and adding to your mental stature, will unspeakably enhance your power to serve your generation.

And what is true of mental acquirements is true of moral conquests.

In surveying any finished specimen of Christian excellence, we are apt to fall into one of two mistakes. We are

GROWTH IN GOODNESS.

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apt to imagine that goodness so pre-eminent is the result of some peculiar natural felicity; or we excuse ourselves for our own short-coming by ascribing it entirely to some arbitrary operation of God's Spirit, who has been kinder to that man than He is disposed to be to us.

Now, it is very true, that some have natural exemptions from faults by which others are beset; and it is equally true, that there is no genuine goodness in the soul of man of which the source must not be sought in the Spirit of God. And yet it is just as true, that with or without natural felicities, all the noblest characters in the annals of true piety are characters which have grown by degrees, and which have got on by instalments. It is just as true that the men who have "grown in grace" are the men who have "given diligence;" and that the men whom the Spirit of God has really "worked in" are the men who have "worked out" their own salvation.

Let us then turn to those who have been brought to choose the better part and the holier life, and who in Christ Jesus have found the motive to a new and holy ambition, as well as the model of all excellence. And to such we do not scruple to say, that to their moral and spiritual attainments there need be no limits, save the limits of humanity. Looking, then, into the "law of liberty," that standard of excellence which insists on attainments so high, yet leaves scope so ample for free and individual development,―are you struck with the beauty of holiness? Do the lives of its worthies fill you with emulous admiration, and do the beatitudes of the Master strike you with a humbling despair? Would you give the world for the boldness of Elijah or the meekness of Moses,-for Joseph's purity or Daniel's devotion? And when you think how bright was the career of John and Paul, and the Apostle-like men who have followed, -as you kiss their beautiful footsteps and weep over them

tears of envy,-does the wonder ever cross you, whether, indeed, it be possible still thus to burn and shine on the way to everlasting blessedness? And would it be more to you than a kingdom or a crown if you could hope to follow those who along a path so heavenly have passed away to a world so holy and a society so sublime?

Then, such distinction may indeed be yours. Setting your eye on the Great Example, - surrendering to the guidance of God's Word and Spirit,-you may not be a second John, or a second Enoch, or a second Paul; but, what is far better, you may become the disciple needed in the present day, -the epistle of Jesus Christ as adapted to the present age, as were these others to their living time. But into that full-grown and finished piety, no magic will transform you, no momentary aspiration, nor passing effort will uplift you. It will be the result of patient and persistent years, the return to many and importunate prayers,-the reward of a protracted struggle,—the achievement of a perseverance which, if vouchsafed at all, you will be the first and fainest to confess is the gift and doing of God's good Spirit.

But if it is to be yours, sincerity will commence at once. Your Christian character is yet to form; and it is wisdom's part to begin to-day. The visionary may lie upon the beach and lounge away the summer, picturing his Atlantis,his Elysium rising from the deep; but the man who is really on the way to wealth is the man who is driving his stakes, and running out his rampart, and rescuing from the muddy tide a few roods of the submerged surface. Be you that Be you the man who begins to-day. Be you the man who confesses, "At this moment there dwelleth no good in me. My better character is all to form; and if it ever come into existence, it must be as a reprisal from the howling deep of ungodliness, the troubled sea of sin. But

man.

BE DEFINITE.

То

I can do all things through Christ strengthening me. His service and honour I devote myself, and in His strength and name I would at once go forth against my besetting sins. And if He will kindly strengthen me, I may hope to gain some ground even before this evening's setting sun." And armed with this mind, a few days of prayerful watchfulness would do more than years of barren speculation to cure your faults, to confirm your faith, and to improve your character.

It is to be feared that many persons forfeit their opportunity, and fall short of everlasting life, for want of these two things,-precision and promptitude. Instead of doing something definite, they are content with vague generalities; and instead of doing instantly what their hand finds to do, life slips away in the daily intention to begin to-morrow. To illustrate what we mean :-In his Second Epistle St. Peter says, "Give diligence to make your calling and election sure," or in one word, "Give diligence to ensure salvation." And this counsel is quite general; but in the parallel context it is opened up into various particulars, and the same Apostle, who in the tenth verse says, "Give diligence to make your calling and election sure," in the fifth verse says, "Giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly-kindness; and to brotherly-kindness, charity; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall; and so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." And you can easily understand the value of these particulars. It is as if a father were in one case saying to his son, 66 Try to earn a competence;" and in the other, "Try to add to this house a field; and to this field a thousand pounds of funded money; for if you do that you won't fall into abso

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penury; you will have a provision for sickness or old