"I have fought a good fight."-2 TIMOTHY IV, 7.

AMONG the myriad stars that the dome of the

heavens presents to our gaze, astronomers recognize not more than twenty as of the first magnitude; among the millions of men who in the long ages of time have peopled this earth, a still smaller number have earned the high distinction of a place beside its most illustrious heroes. In this bright constellation of the world's transcendently great men shines, with unsurpassed, if not indeed unequaled, luster, the apostle Paul.

Judged by the qualities of his character and the results of his life, no man, save the Son of God, ever trod this earth who was his superior-possibly none who was his peer. Drop out of human history the record of any other life, and the civilized world would hardly feel such an oppressive sense of impoverishment. It is not rich enough to bear the loss of this regal man.

How shall we study such a character? How

compress into the contemplation of one brief hour a figure whose colossal form has filled the world? The very massiveness of such a character oppresses us, and makes us shrink from the hopeless task of worthily delineating it. As well might a child attempt to grasp Olympus in its hand.

But impossible as the task appears we must not be deterred from essaying it; we cannot afford to lose the priceless lessons which the life of such a man teaches us. Rich indeed are we, beyond all estimate, in having, each for his personal heritage, the record of a life so sublimely great, so singularly simple, that, though an angel might not measure its greatness, a child may admire its beauty and feel its inspiration.

Truest exemplar of Christianity, greatest of earth's benefactors, noblest of its heroes! May our hearts kindle with like ardor, and flame with like devotion to God, and burn with like enthusiasm for humanity, while we seek to learn the secret of such sovereign power!

See this man, the marvel of the ages! Between that boy, with frank face and thoughtful look, sitting by his mother's side, or playing on the banks of the Cydnus in his native city of Tarsus, and that hoaryheaded apostle who received the crown of martyrdom in Rome, were years which have a story to tell-a lesson which we do well to learn-a secret worth more than all the world's philosophy besides.

Fortunately for us the story of that wonderful life and the secret of its overmastering power have been set forth so clearly by the apostle himself that we need not miss their invaluable lessons.

What was it, then, that elevated this Hebrew youth to such a pinnacle of honor and put the crown of preeminence upon his head? Can other men, can we, claim brotherhood with this stalwart hero? Can we stand beside him in the victorious warfare, do our lifework as he did his, achieve victory as did he, and leave to succeeding generations an ever-widening circle of undying, beneficent influence?

A careful study of the man, the leading traits of his character, and the governing principles of his life, will aid us in answering these questions.

Look, then, at this remarkable man, as he descends from this lofty pedestal of supernatural greatness upon which imagination has placed him, and we see him standing by our side, a man not at all extraordinary in appearance, with nothing essential to distinguish him from other men, save some marked physical weaknesses and defects. There he stands. unveiled before you. Slender in form, short in stature, with features strongly marked, a face beaming with animated expression revealing the intensity of thought and feeling which glow within, aquiline nose, lofty forehead, sanguine-bilious temperament, eyes with keen but kindly penetrating gaze, notwithstanding

their diseased condition, which somewhat impairs his vision, speech so defective that he cannot be a master of Ciceronian or of Demosthenic oratory, though the fiery force and resistless logic of his words render them eloquent and convincing: such in physical contour and appearance is the conjectural portrait of the man whose deeds have revolutionized society and whose words are ringing through the world to-day, stirring the hearts of men with a force which the ages have not diminished.

Surely his strength came not from a commanding figure, nor chiefly from any extraordinary natural endowments, though these were indeed great. The principal secret of his greatness and power must be sought elsewhere. We must look into that character, with its elements of strength compacted and intensified by an unseen but not unknown factor; we must study that life, with its mighty forces and inspiration, if we would learn the sources whence this great masterspirit drew his nourishment and gathered his might.

St. Paul's whole life was under the supremacy of the greatest forces that ever energized the powers of man— the supremacy of a regnant conscience, the supremacy of an overmastering moral purpose, the supremacy of an all-conquering faith; these are the powers that held in their firm grasp all the faculties of that ardent nature and employed them all for the noblest ends that ever engaged an intelligent being.

Let us examine a little more closely the reign of these three kingly powers over this loyal subject.

I. Here, then, is a man whose entire being is under the supremacy of conscience. For once, at least, in the history of the race, this regal faculty sits on the throne and exercises supreme command. For once, humanity has a chance to see to what heights of triumph a mortal life may be exalted, when the mandates of conscience are always and unhesitatingly obeyed, and there is never an occasion for suspicion concerning the loyalty of the whole nature to God and duty.

St. Paul differed widely from the millions of men above whom he towered, in this: his absolute, unquestioning, unremitting loyalty to the Supreme Power and to the solemn voice of duty. With other men conscience often has theoretical supremacy; with St. Paul its reign was actual. Other men may waver and fluctuate in their obedience to its behests; St. Paul is held to this central power as steadily as the planets to the sun. This never-wavering loyalty to right, as he saw the right, gave to his whole life an element of sincerity which was utterly beyond suspicion. There was no sham about this man. What he seemed to be, that he was. What he declared to another, that his inmost soul commended as truth and attested to its own secret tribunal.

Underlying every great character and every illus