(3317)
Uncertainty of Life—See [Precaution].
UNCONSCIOUS GREATNESS
If John Wesley himself, the little, long-nosed, long-chinned, peremptory man who, on March 9, 1791, was carried to his grave by six poor men, “leaving behind him nothing but a good library of books, a well-worn clergyman’s gown, a much-abused reputation, and—the Methodist Church, could return to this world just now, when so much admiring ink is being poured upon his head, he would probably be the most astonished man on the planet.” For if Wesley has achieved fame, he never intended it. Seeley says that England conquered and peopled half the world in a fit of absence of mind. And if Wesley built up one of the greatest of modern churches, and supplied a new starting-point to modern religious history, it was with an entire absence of conscious intention. (Text.)—W. H. Fitchett, “Wesley and His Century.”
(3318)
UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE
A Persian fable says: One day A wanderer found a lump of clay So redolent of sweet perfume Its odors scented all the room. “What are thou?” was his quick demand. “Art thou some gem from Samarcand, Or spikenard in this rude disguise, Or other costly merchandise?” “Nay, I am but a lump of clay.” “Then, whence this wondrous perfume, say!” “Friend, if the secret I disclose— I have been dwelling with the rose.”
Dear Lord, abide with us, that we May draw our perfume fresh from thee.
It is nothing wonderful that men said of the early disciples that they had been with Jesus. They had in their life the perfume of the rose—the Rose of Sharon.
(3319)