The Spirit of Christmas | Page 3

for this evil there is no cure but by the giving of
greater knowledge. It is because men do not understand evil that they
yield themselves to its power. Wickedness is folly in action, and
injustice is the error of the blind. It is because men are ignorant that
they destroy one another, and at last themselves.
"If there were more light in the world there would be no sorrow. If the
great King who knows all things would enlighten the world with
wisdom--wisdom to understand his law and his ways, to read the
secrets of the earth and the stars, to discern the workings of the heart of
man and the things that make for joy and peace--if he would but send
us, his messengers, as a flame of fire to shine upon those who sit in
darkness, how gladly would we go to bring in the new day!
"We would speak the word of warning and counsel to the erring, and
tell knowledge to the perplexed. We would guide the ignorant in the

paths of prudence, and the young would sit at our feet and hear us
gladly in the school of life. Then folly would fade away as the morning
vapour, and the sun of wisdom would shine on all men, and the peace
of God would come with the counsel of the angels."
A murmur of pleasure followed the words of Uriel, and eager looks
flashed around the circle of the messengers of light as they heard the
praise of wisdom fitly spoken. But there was one among them on
whose face a shadow of doubt rested, and though he smiled, it was as if
he remembered something that the others had forgotten. He turned to
an angel near him.
"Who was it," said he, "to whom you were sent with counsel long ago?
Was it not Balaam the son of Beor, as he was riding to meet the King
of Moab? And did not even the dumb beast profit more by your
instruction than the man who rode him? And who was it," he continued,
turning to Uriel, "that was called the wisest of all men, having searched
out and understood the many inventions that are found under the sun?
Was not Solomon, prince of fools and philosophers, unable by much
learning to escape weariness of the flesh and despair of the spirit?
Knowledge also is vanity and vexation. This I know well, because I
have dwelt among men and held converse with them since the day
when I was sent to instruct the first man in Eden."
Then I looked more closely at him who was speaking and recognised
the beauty of the archangel Raphael, as it was pictured long ago:
"A seraph winged; six wings he wore to shade His lineaments divine;
the pair that clad Each shoulder broad came mantling o'er his breast,
With regal ornament; the middle pair Girt like a starry zone his waist,
and round Skirted his loins and thighs with downy gold And colours
dipped in Heav'n; the third his feet Shadowed from either heel with
feathered mail, Sky-tinctured grain. Like Maia's son he stood And
shook his plumes, that Heavenly fragrance filled The circuit wide."
"Too well I know," he spoke on, while the smile on his face deepened
into a look of pity and tenderness and desire, "too well I know that
power corrupts itself and that knowledge cannot save. There is no cure
for the evil that is in the world but by the giving of more love to men.
The laws that are ordained for earth are strange and unequal, and the
ways where men must walk are full of pitfalls and dangers. Pestilence
creeps along the ground and flows in the rivers; whirlwind and tempest

shake the habitations of men and drive their ships to destruction; fire
breaks forth from the mountains and the foundations of the world
tremble. Frail is the flesh of man, and many are his pains and troubles.
His children can never find peace until they learn to love one another
and to help one another.
"Wickedness is begotten by disease and misery. Violence comes from
poverty and hunger. The cruelty of oppression is when the strong tread
the weak under their feet; the bitterness of pride is when the wise and
learned despise the simple; the crown of folly is when the rich think
they are gods, and the poor think that God is not.
"Hatred and envy and contempt are the curse of life. And for these
there is no remedy save love--the will to give and to bless--the will of
the King himself, who gives to all and is loving unto every man. But
how shall the hearts of men be won to this will? How shall it