From our Exchanges

A Business Man's New Year Endeavor :—To be joyous in my work, moderate in my pleasures, chary in my confidences, faithful in my friendships; to be energetic, but not excitable; enthusiastic, but not fanatical; loyal to the truth as I see it, but ever open-minded to the newer light; to abhor gush as I would profanity, and hate cant as I would a lie; to be careful in my promises, punctual in my engagements, candid with myself, and frank with others; to discourage shams and rejoice in all that is beautiful and true; to do my work and live my life so that neither shall require defence or apology; to honor no one simply because rich or famous, and despise no one because humble or poor; to be gentle and considerate toward the weak, respectful yet self-respecting toward the great, courteous to all, obsequious to none; to seek wisdom from great books and inspiration from good men; to invigorate my mind with noble thoughts as I do my body with sunshine and fresh air; to prize all sweet human friendships and seek to make at least one home happy; to have charity for the erring, sympathy for the sorrowing, cheer for the despondent; to leave the world a little better off because of me; and to leave it, when I must, bravely and cheerfully, with faith in God and good-will to all my fellow-men—this shall be my endeavor during the coming year.—The Congregationalist.

President Wilson of Princeton says,—

"If you wish your children to be Christians, you must really take the trouble to be Christians yourselves. Those are the only terms upon which the home will work the gracious miracle. And you cannot shift this thing by sending your children to Sunday School. You may remedy many things, but you cannot shift this responsibility. If the children do not get this into their blood atmospherically they are not going to get it into their blood at all until, it may be, they come to a period of life where the influence of Christian lives outside of the home may profoundly affect them and govern their consciences."

The New Year will prove a truly happy one only to those who welcome it as affording a grand opportunity for doing for others. The selfish man overreaches himself even in his self-seeking, which can yield him no real joy, though it may seem to gain him various lesser goods and temporary gratifications of whim or appetite. The Christian altruist, on the other hand, not only lays up for himself a treasure in heaven, but even upon earth enters into the reward of a joyous satisfaction over duty well done, and into the glad consciousness of having improved the lot of some of his fellow-men, and rendered the world a bit brighter for his having lived in it.—New York Observer.

It is a misuse of terms to speak of "new truth." There can be no new truth. What is true has always been true, and always will be. There may be new understandings of truth, as there have been in the past. Wisdom did not die with the fathers, nor will it expire with us. Only care should be taken, when a new view is presented for our acceptance, to test it by the standard of truth that divine wisdom has given us. The "noble Bereans" took the right course when new views were submitted to them—they "searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so."—The Examiner.

Unless we mistake, beneath all these addresses about Christianity, and beneath much of the criticism of institutional and formulated Christianity, there is a strong movement toward getting down and back to the absolutely essential and fundamental things. There is a weariness stealing over the world at the substitution of the traditions of men for the commandments of God.—The Watchman.

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