Phineas attended a Bible class at which the students drew texts for their compositions from the clergyman’s hat. In his autobiography Barnum told that he once drew forth the text from Luke x. 42: “But one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her.” “_Question_: What is the one thing needful?” His answer is short, but it serves as a concise creed from which he did not deviate later in life: “This question, ‘What is the one thing needful?’ is capable of receiving various answers, depending much upon the persons to whom it is addressed. “The merchant might answer that ‘the one thing needful is plenty of customers, who buy liberally without “beating down,” and pay cash for all their purchases.’ “The farmer might reply that ‘the one thing needful is large harvests and high prices.’ “The physician might answer that ‘it is plenty of patients.’ “The lawyer might be of opinion that ‘it is an unruly community, always engaged in bickerings and litigations.’ “The clergyman might reply, ‘It is a fat salary, with multitudes of sinners seeking salvation and paying large pew rents.’ “The bachelor might exclaim, ‘It is a pretty wife who loves her husband, and who knows how to sew on buttons.’ “The maiden might answer, ‘It is a good husband, who will love, cherish, and protect me while life shall last.’ “But the most proper answer, and doubtless that which applied to the case of Mary, would be, ‘The one thing needful is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, follow in his footsteps, love God and obey his commandments, love our fellow-man, and embrace every opportunity of administering to his necessities. In short, the one thing needful is to live a life that we can always look back upon with satisfaction, and be enabled ever to contemplate its termination with trust in Him who has so kindly vouchsafed it to us, surrounding us with innumerable blessings, if we have but the heart and wisdom to receive them in a proper manner.’” The clergyman approved highly this essay of the thirteen-year-old Barnum, and he himself approved it many times in later life, when he wrote the same thing in different words. To his mind, one must look carefully to the main chance, attain monetary success by all odds, and practise humility by means of a proper respect for God and Jesus Christ. In short, Barnum lived a life that he himself always did look back upon with satisfaction--a satisfaction which stands out triumphantly in his autobiography.