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late in life, thus, derive little or no benefit from its pursuit.
THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
They have no idea of the effort necessary to rise to the sublime status of divinity, and rest content with the sweet delusion that the goal can be reached on the wings to be evolved out by prayer and psalm. As a matter of fact, it is the intelligent pursuit, amounting, in point of assiduity, to the whole-heartedness of worship, of the Ideal, and not a vague or fanatical doting upon an idol, which is required for spiritual progress; but so far as that is concerned, it is clearly a case of "many be calledi, but few be chosen."
To the vast majority of mankind, even the very idea of worship is unintelligible and devoid of pleasure. They worship their god on account of a vague and indefinable sense of fear with which their minds are impressed, in relation with some actual or apprehended calamity. Hence, when the danger is past god is easily forgotten, as the proverb says. But worship, or devotion, in its true form, is really nothing but an imitating of the object of worship. When you worship a being, you walk in his footsteps. You must copy the object of your worship, if you wish to achieve anything. Merely flattering the Diety, or offering him food, however choice, would not do. God, surely, does not stand in need of food at any time. It will not bring you any pleasure if all the ants in your house prostrate themselves before you, praise you up to the skies, and offer you a portion of a dead cricket, or some other insect, as an ordinary or burnt offering. Similarly, our sacrifices and thanksgiving cannot possibly afford pleasure to the
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