And  a  man  who  is  floundering  in  a  sea  of  doubts  has  no
right  to  call  out  to  others  to  come  and  see  how  brave
and  strong  a  swimmer  he  is.  The  strong  and  brave
swimmer  is  he  who  gets  through  and  gains  the  other
shore,  and  stands  firmly  on  the  rock.  He  who  can
never  quite  make  up  his  mind  on  any  subject  is  not
usually  praised  for  vigor  of  intellect.  The  young  man
who  begins  a  trade,  a  business,  a  profession,  and  then,
speedily  doubting  his  ability  or  taste  for  it,  turns  to
another  only  again  to  doubt  his  ability,  is  a  young  man
who  awakens  only  pity  for  his  want  of  perception  or  of
purpose.  He  who  cannot  make  up  his  mind  on  any
public  question,  who  always  doubts  how  to  vote,  gets
no  praise  for  manliness.  Doubt  and  indecision  are  marks
of  weakness  rather  than  strength,  and  this  book  of  the
*'  Proverbs  "  breathes  all  through  it  a  bracing  atmosphere
of  faith  m  truth,  in  right,  in  manhood  and  in  God.     It


26    A  YOUNG  man's  difficulties  with  his  bible.
shows  on  every  page  the  native  nobility  of  the  man  who
is  strong  alike  in  the  integrity  of  his  outward  virtue
and  his  inward  faith.
The  plan  of  the  book  of  the  Proverbs  is  in  harmony
with  the  design  of  its  author.  Its  sayings  are  often  used
by  us  in  disjointed  fragments.  For  it  is  portable  wisdom.
