thou visitest him? For thou hast made him but little lower than God,
And crownest him with glory and honor.

--Psalm 8. 4, 5.

Eternal God, may I know the value of the gift of life. May I think
seriously of it, and not through abuse or neglect cripple it,
remembering that it is mine to sow, to grow, and to reap. I pray that
I may care more for the food and raiment of my soul than I care for
the food and raiment of my body. Amen.

OCTOBER FIFTEENTH

Virgil born B.C. 70.

Evangelista Torricelli born 1608.

Edward Fitzgerald born 1763.

Being not unacquainted with woe, I learned to help the unfortunate.

--Virgil.

There are some hearts like wells green-mossed and deep
As ever summer saw,
And cool their water is, yea, cool and sweet;
But you must come to draw.
They hoard not, yet they rest in calm content,
And not unsought will give;
They can be quiet with their wealth unspent,
So self-contained they live.

--Author unknown.

For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you
with many tears; not that ye should be made sorry, but that ye might
know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.

--2 Corinthians 2. 4.

Gracious Father, help me to understand that while I may be content to
rest with what I have gathered, I cannot preserve the strength of my
soul unless I share my possessions. Give me a passion for humanity
that will advance gifts through love, and offer service without the
need of an appeal. Amen.

OCTOBER SIXTEENTH

Bishop Hugh Latimer burned at Oxford 1555.

Albrecht von Haller born 1708.

Noah Webster born 1758.

Robert Stephenson born 1803.

As ships meet at sea--a moment together, when words of greeting must
be spoken, and then away upon the deep--so men meet in this world;
and I think we should cross no man's path without hailing him, and
if he needs, giving him supplies.

--Henry Ward Beecher.

Nothing is more unaccountable than the spell that often lurks in a
spoken word. A thought may be present to the mind, and two minds
conscious of the same thought, but as long as it remains unspoken
their familiar talk flows quietly over the hidden idea.

--Nathaniel Hawthorne.

And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others?

--Matthew 5. 47.

Heavenly Father, I pray that thou wilt give me a generous heart.