WAIT TILL YOU KNOW.



MANY persons make themselves very ridiculous by premature and ill-considered decisions. If they profess to be teachers, they cannot bear to admit that they are ignorant of anything, and so feel under obligation to have an answer ready for every question. Especially is this true of some who undertake to interpret the Scriptures. They make statements without authority, they suggest explanations, which are worse than worthless, and they spend a considerable portion of their time in recalling and cancelling what they have said, and in contradicting their own statements. It would be far better for them to wait until they know what they are talking about. Ignorance is not the greatest disgrace, and it is much better for a man to admit that he does not know, than it is to place somebody else under the necessity of proving him to be ignorant of the things, which he professes to understand.

Wait till you know. If you cannot answer a question, say so. Quite likely the ignorance of which you are so ashamed is something, which you share in common with the wisest of men. I have heard of a conceited student, who, on being asked some question, said that he once knew how to answer it, but had forgotten: at which the wise old professor dryly remarked, 

"What a pity it is that the only man in the world who knew the correct answer to that question has forgotten it!" 




The Christian.




PETRARCH'S WORD.



PETRARCH was a poet whose home was in that soft and sunny land called Italy. One day he was summoned to court as a witness on trial. On entering the witness box he prepared to take the usual oath, when the judge, closing the holy Book, said, 

"As to you, Petrarch, your word is sufficient."

Wasn't that a fine compliment to the poet's character? He had always been so careful to speak the truth that his bare word was considered equal to other men's oaths. Noble poet! May every child who reads this be as truthful as Petrarch!



NEVER retire at night without being wiser than when you rose in the morning, by having learned something useful during the day.