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AWST, 1888. %xl %Xtom §ûxòmò U i\t %iŵtú% oí grwo» ẁlUg*. BY THE BEV. H. ABNOLD THOMAS, M.A., BRISTOL. It is told of Mr. Erskine, of Linlathen, that having been kept waiting one cold day by a gentleman who had been at great pains to protect himself against the bitter weather, he remarked, when the preparations were all, at length, concluded, " Ẃhy, bless me, Mr. So & So, you take as much care of yourself, as if you were taking care of some other person." The delicate irony of that remark was intended, of course, to suggest that it is possible for a man to take too much care of himself, that it is possible for him to bestow upon himself the attention which might more worthily be given to the needs of his neighbours. And, indeed, it is only too obvious how easy it is to err in this way. There are people enough in this world who would be much more agreeable, and much more happy, if they took a little less care of themselves, and a little more care of other persons. Bearing this in mind, however, I am yet going to venture to say something this afternoon of the duty, and the necessity of taking aíl proper and wise care of one self. I am speaking, in the main, to those who are especting, before very long, to have entrusted to them the care of other people, and the care not of men's bodies, or of their possessions and worldly interests, but of their characters, which is a matter of infinitely higher importance. Your business, gentlemen, as ministers, will be the cure of souls, as the old phrase runs. Now, I should be sorry, indeed, and should take shame to myself, if I should say anything, the effect of which would be to make your care of the congregations, to which you may be called to minister, less constant, less faithful, less affectionate. It is, indeed, rather, that you may be led to care for other people, and especially for your own congregations, the more truly, and not that you should be put in danger of neglecting them, that I would urge upon you the wisdom and the necessity of taking care of yourselves. It is a principle, not likely to be disputed, that any man who aspires to do a great work should see to it that he, himself, the man who is to do it, is not unworthy of the labours which he undertakes, and the ends which he seeks. Let the physican first cure himself. Let him who would take the mote out of his brother's eye first take the beain out of his own eye. This is our demand, 36