The Neglected Pupil
The teacher of a Sunday school class propounded the foregoing question to a new pupil. The child in question, though bright enough, had been neglected by her parents, and it was only through means of some other pupils that she was led to come to church at all. Looking only to the meaning of the words she answered: “It is called original because it was a new kind of sin invented and committed then for the first time.” When asked, “What are capital sins?” she reflected, “ When papa approves of anything, he says, ‘ Capital! that’s capital! ’ ” and so she answered: “ A capital sin is a good sin.” We see herein the evil of neglect on the part of parents, and the necessity of religious instruction.
Q. Does this corruption of our nature remain in us after original sin is forgiven?
A. This corruption of our nature and other punishments remain in us after original sin is forgiven.
The Face of Socrates
We are all born with an inclination to evil rather than to good, and this is in consequence of original sin; but we can and should practice that self-correction in which virtue properly consists. A physiognomist, after a study of Socrates’ face, decided he was a man inclined to lewdness, anger, drunkenness, and many other vices. His disciples were indignant, but the philosopher (he lived in Greece four hundred years before Christ) stopped them, saying candidly: “ Keep
