superficial, though he may have spent a vast deal of time and labor
in its acquisition. Let another person have studied the physiology of
plants till he has learned all that has yet been discovered of their
curious and beautiful structure,--till he appreciates as far as mortals
may the Divine wisdom, that even in the formation of a blade of grass
transcends not only all that man with all his pride of science and
mechanical skill can perform, but goes far--we cannot even guess how
far--beyond all that human intellect can comprehend; and still more if
the mind of this student be lifted upward in adoration as he learns, he
is the true botanist, though he may have studied far less, if we count
by time, than his superficial brother.

So it is with all the sciences. The kernel is what nourishes the
mind,--the knowledge of what God has created, and not the mere power of
repeating the classifications and vocabularies that man has invented to
describe these creations: not that these also have not an eminent use;
but still it is one that should always be esteemed secondary in all our
studies.

So, too, it is with history. One may have all the important dates,
names, and facts of the world's history at the tongue's end, and yet be
none the wiser; for such knowledge is but the surface of history. To
know history well, is to have so arranged its facts in the mind that it
may be contemplated as a continuous exhibition of God's providence. It
is to study the succession of events, not as separate units, but as
links of one vast chain, on every one of which is inscribed a phrase
discoursing of the progress of the human race, and showing the growth of
man in the complex, from infancy to adolescence. Further than that, we
can hardly venture to believe the race has yet advanced. Thus studied,
history is the noblest of all sciences, since it treats of the highest