Is  this  world  only  for  the  well?  Is  there
no  place  in  it  for  the  sick?  Is  it  not  possible
to  triumph  over  sickness,  and  in  spite  of  it
answer  the  end  of  life  ?  What  is  the  record  of
history  upon  this  point?  Is  it  not  that  physi¬
cal  dwarfs  have  often  been  moral  giants ;  that
bed-ridden  invalids  have  been  ministering
angels ;  that  from  pain-racked  bodies  has
come  the  sweetest  music;  that  in  the  fires  of


142  NEW  THOUGHT  CHRISTIANIZED


suffering  character  has  been  refined ;  that
physical  infirmity  has  often  proved  a  spur  to
the  highest  endeavor ;  and  that  from  the
broken  alabaster  vase  has  come  the  sweetest
fragrance?  Take  from  the  world  the  con¬
tributions  to  its  weal  made  by  the  sick  and
the  infirm  and  it  would  be  greatly  impover¬
ished.
