ning to talk? Did he not hear and learn from the "ancient of
days"--from his great author? Is it not unreasonable to suppose that the
author of man's being took no delight in him? _Without this_ the first
man could never have commanded the use of words. Here we have the
"Arriere pensee" clue, that is, the clue in mental reservation; and here
we meet the axiom. The clear is the true, and the "Ariadne," the clue
that leads us out of the labyrinth. Language at the first must have been
specific. This, in the nature of the case, must have been true; that is,
each and every word must have been used in such a manner as to convey a
certain definite idea. As we have already seen how mathematics aid us in
passing back to the first man, so we can easily see how to reach an
approximate idea of his mental condition. Physiologically, he might have
been a full developed athlete, but in mentality, like the helpless
infant. He is at the first uneducated. True, he possesses powers of
mind, but they are inactive. No thought has passed through his mind to
wake him up. He opens his eyes and immediately he thinks, he hears, and
thought is increased. He is connected with the objective world of things
by means of the five senses, and his mind goes to work upon these. His
thoughts are all his own; he himself thought them; they were within his
reach. He saw and heard, but his thoughts, like yours and mine, did not
go beyond his perceivings. Yes, he wakes up and hears a rustling sound
in the air just above his head; looking up he discovers a pair of the
birds of Paradise flying over him; they light on the branch of a tree
near by. These were the first things seen; he saw them in the morning of
the first day of his life. He looks and looks, and thinks these birds
are older than himself, for he remembers having seen them at the moment
of the first consciousness. The question possible came up, Whence came
they, and all the other things which I now see and hear? Were they
always here? No answer is found. His curiosity is aroused; his reason
is perplexed; he _would be_ puzzled. He now reaches for thoughts too
high for him; neither bird, beast, nor any other part of all creation
can give the light he seeks. Whichever way he turns he receives no
answer; he is bewildered; he is now anxious for light and ready to
receive it. Man has found his extremity, and this is God's opportunity.
He visits man and talks to him, and man, hearing the speech of his
Creator