Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: n THE LAW OF INCREASE For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. — St. Matthew xxv: 29. saying is the result of one of our Saviour's A deep glances into Nature. It describes not so much what Jesus desired to see in the Kingdom of God as what years of experience in this world had taught him. I think I am safe in saying it contains at least the germ of the theory of Darwin. Christ had just related a parable in which he had shown how easy it is for a man who has received five talents to double his capital by judicious trading, and how hard it is for the man who has received only one talent to do much with it. When the King returns, the man with the ten talents is further rewarded by being made ruler over ten cities, while the poor fellow who had wrapped his one talent up in a napkin and had hidden it away in the ground for safe-keeping is obliged to relinquish his sole possession; and he has the further mortification of seeing it given to a man who has already more than he needs. The rich becomes richer and the poor becomes poorer. I presume that most of us do not have to live very long before we realize that this is the way of the world, and that this is a very true parable of Nature. It has an inspiring side, and it has a depressing and terrible side. It is a comfortable thought to the man who has five talents, but it is apt to be a very sad thought to the man who has only one talent. A little consideration will show how true this is. A man who has always enjoyed good health does not need to be anxious or constantly on his guard for fear he shall fall ill. When he is bidden to a feast he does not ask himself, "I wonder whether it will agree with me?" he goes. He doe...