faculties, a spiritual-born hope which binds the present and the future. Desire, pure and simple, is a divine condition, and is simply a declaration of that which is to be. Desire and accomplishment are the first and last chapter in the Book of Human Progress. "Ye are the temple of the living God." Then let us yet prepare a fit abode for our "loving Father," and seek the Power of God in our own soul. "The Kingdom of God is within you." We know that God is not the "god of appearances." Nicodemus, a ruler among the Jews, secretly visited Christ at night. He asked Jesus where the kingdom of Heaven was. The Kingdom of God is within you-not here, not there, but everywhere. Then let us learn to perceive the depth of our own soul, and by interior development of our spiritual perceptive faculties, "overcome all things." When the truth of God is cutting and chiseling out of the stone of human experience a pillar of divine manhood, may we understand its purpose. As the chisel cuts first a vein and then a nerve, may we understand that the sublime Artist is chiseling us, and not one cut is too deep, not one line overdrawu. Let us hold in our thought that for his own manifestation we are made; that the great Cause and Soul and Center of all things is appealing to us, apart from church or ism, creed or opinion, to embrace all mankind in one common brotherhood, that will unveil the hidden Christ lost in the debris of the ages, and found at last in the center of every man's soul-God in "Godlike men." RENUNCIATION. BY CLARA G. ORTON. What man is truly rich? He who his riches all can lose And not repine; Who can an unjust gain refuse And wealth resign, That man is truly rich. What man is truly great? He who well knows that all renown Is but a breath; Who calmly lays his honors down, And smiles at death, That man is truly great. What man is truly blest? Whose dearest cherished hope may die And heart not break; Who yields his joy without a sigh For duty's sake, That man is truly blest. "If IN HIS NAME. ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." St. John XIV. 14. These words of Jesus to his disciples are of a peculiar nature, and one which is most generally misunderstood. The construc tion usually put upon them is such as to convey a meaning something like this: "When ye pray, if ye ask for Jesus' sake,' ye shall receive." If we analyze the expression, however, we will find in it a very different meaning. In the first place, what is "his name?" At the annunciation of the birth of Jesus, the angel said to Mary, "Thou shalt call his name Jesus (Savior); for he shall save his people from their sins.” If, therefore, his name was Savior, then the phrase, "to ask in his name," implies that, should a savior ask anything, or should his disciples, in their attitude of saviors, ask anything-which is almost equivalent to asking for the sole benefit of the people-he "will do it." This promise was made to his diciples only and not to the mul titude generally-these were not included in this promise. From this fact we are to understand that a disciple or follower of Christ is, must of necessity be, a savior of the people. The prophet, looking down through the ages, said, "And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion" (Obadiah 21); and to these saviors alone is this promise made. Again, Jesus was called the "Son of God.". He was not the only son, but he was the "first-born of many brethren;" for it is written, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right, privilege, Marg. Trans.) to become the sons of God." St. John 1. 12. The question here arises, How may we determine who are the sons of God? Jesus said, "No man knoweth the Son but the Father" (Matt. XI. 27); hence to-day, even as then, the son of God may live among men and not be recognized. Nevertheless a crucial test of divine sonship is expressed in these words of Jesus, "For what thing so ever he (the Father) doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." St. John V. 19. But what does the son see the Father do? By referring to God's purpose, declared in the beginning, to make man in his likeness and to give them the dominion, we perceive the work that the son "seeth the Father do;" it is to save the people from their ignorance and to lead them to a realization of their divine likeness and consequent dominion, thus saving them from sin and death. This is the truth that the Son labors to communicate, and by this truth he will make the people free; for he said to them, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, shall be free indeed." St. John vi. 36. Such, then, are the sons of God, saviors, who shall ask what they will and it shall be done; for until a man becomes a savior, he cannot ask in his name." ye THE NEW TIME. BY ABBIE W. GOULD. It is coming! it is coming! Heed ye not the tones in air? In the sound of pealing bell, Cannon's roar and screech of shell, Error on its dying bed, Treason, place not for its head: Oh! the Watchers, tried and true. It is coming' yea, 'tis coming. It is coming! yea, 'tis coming, Charity with sister graces, Crown the coming days with gladness. Chase away all care and sadness, "If we only realized how petty are our customary drafts upon our spiritual, mental, and physical forces, as compared with the illimitable reservoir of strength and life upon which we may draw at will, we would perceive that our chief necessity is in learning to recognize the true nature of that which we call life.” THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION OF ABRAHAM. It has always been the policy of THE ESOTERIC to publish, without regard to authorship or source, that which we deem meritorious, holding that the value is inherent in the words. The following extracts are taken from a Mormon journal. "The Book of the Revelation of Abraham" is said to have been translated into the German language from an old Slavic manuscript by Professor Bonwetsch of the University of Goettingen. It bears the marks of genuine revelation like that found only in the Scriptures, for there are no people who know, much less believe, some of the truths therein shadowed forth.—[Ed. THE TRANSLATOR'S NOTE. In volume I. of an extensive religions work being published in Leipzig, entitled, "Studies for the History of Theology and the Church." edited by Prof. G. Nathanael Bonwetsch and R. Seeberg, is found a translation of the Apocalypse of Abraham by the first named gentleman, who is a professor in the University of Goettingen. This Apocalypse of Abraham, according to Professor Bonwetsch, was found in an old Slavie manuscript, in the University of Moscow, Russia. The old Slavic is a language from which the Russian is derived. The professor says that the old Slavic translation is very complete when compared with other fragmentary renditions of this same subject matter, made by various scholars as far back as the early part of the fourteenth century, and which renditions might more properly be called, the Testament of Abraham. He suggests, further, that the Slavic manuscript has evidently a Greek origin, judging from one thing, from the high literary and theological education of its author. Comments upon the Greek version, not yet discovered, but from which the Slavic is supposed to have been taken, have been found dated as early as the ninth century. Prof. Bonwetsch found the aid of a specialist necessary in making the present translation into German. THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION OF ABRAHAM, THE SON OF TERAH, NOAH, THE SON OF LAMECH, THE SON OF METHU- I. On the day when I planed (polished) the gods of my father Terah, and the gods of Nahor, his brother, I pondered: who is in truth the strong god. I, Abraham, at the time of my offer ing, when I had finished the service of the sacrifice of my father Terah to his gods of gold, silver, brass, and iron, going into the temple for service, I found the god Marumath, hewn (shaped) of stone, fallen forward by the feet of Nahor's iron god. And it happened when I saw it, my soul was perplexed, and I considered that I was not able to put him back into his place, I, Abraham, alone, because he was heavy, being formed of a large stone, and I went to and made it known to my father. Then he went in with me and both of us could hardly move him onward to bring him back to his place. And his head fell from him while I yet held him by the head. It happened that when my father saw that Marumath's head had fallen off, he said to me: "Abraham," and I answered, "Here I am." Then he said to me: "Bring me the hatchet from the house." And I brought it to him. And he hewed into shape another Marumath, without a head, out of another stone, and the head which had fallen from Marumath, he put upon it, and the rest of Marumath he destroyed. And he made five other gods and gave them to me, commanding me to sell them out in the streets of the city. And I saddled my father's ass and laid them upon it, and went to the inn to sell them. And behold merchants with camels from Fandana, Syria, passed on their way to Egypt, to purchase their papyrus from the Nile. And I asked them and they answered, and I conversed with them. And one of the camels belching, the ass was frightened and ran away and threw off the gods, breaking three of them, but two were left. And it happened when the Syrians saw that I had gods, they said to me: "Why did you not make known to us that you had gods, so we might have purchased them, before the ass heard the voice of the camel, and they would not have been lost? Give us now the remain, ing gods, and we will pay you the fit price. And I consideredtroubled in my heart, how I might bring to my father the purchase price of all the gods. Noticing my embarrassment they gave me the price of all the gods for the broken gods; and the three broken ones I threw into the waters of the river Gur which was near by, and they sank into the depths thereof, and henceforth were no more. III. But as I still went on my way, my heart was stirred and |