"To have sown in the souls of men One thought that will not die-- To have been a link in the chain of life Shall be immortality." [Sidenote: Lincoln.] When we hear anything about a great man we want to know everything about him--where he was born, who his parents were, where he lived, how he played, with whom he played, in what kind of house he lived, where he went in swimming, where he fished, etc., etc. Such things about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, for example, are always interesting. What boy is there who doesn't like to hear about the poor boy Lincoln in the little log cabin in the backwoods of Indiana; to picture him there among the bears and other wild animals; to picture him sitting by the fireplace learning to cipher by using a piece of charcoal on a wooden shovel because he had no slate, no paper or lead pencil! Abraham Lincoln was a great and good man, and we want to know everything about him even when he was a boy, partly to help us become somewhat like him; for, as Lincoln wrote, "Good boys who to their books apply, Will all be great men by and by." [Sidenote: Little Known of Apostles' Boyhood.] Unfortunately, we know very little about the boyhood days of the Ancient Apostles, about whom we shall read in this little book. It is true we can partly judge of what kind of boys they were by the kind of men they became; but the little incidents of childhood and youth, which tended to mould their character, and in which we now would be so interested, though nineteen hundred years have passed, were never written, and may never be known. They grew to manhood before the opportunity came for them to render that service to the world which has made their names immortal. [Sidenote: Most Favored Men.] In one respect, however, they were the most favored men the world has known, because they had the privilege of associating daily--almost hourly, for about two and one-half years, with the Savior of the world. No wonder, then, that they became great, when they had such an example of true Greatness constantly before them. As soon as they learned to love Jesus, they desired to be like Him, and so remembered His teachings, and tried to do as He said. Surely it will be good for us to get acquainted with such men. [IMAGE: MAP OF PALESTINE IN THE TIME OF CHRIST, ILLUSTRATING THE FOUR GOSPELS.] [Sidenote: Why Apostles Are Known.]