If we are always wishing for some _new_ occupation or business, we shall never do anything well: if we are longing and seeking for _new_ amusements, we shall not enjoy what we have: if children are always wishing for _new_ toys, they will cease to care about the old ones. Therefore all this desire for novelty and change will lead to indolence, discontent, covetousness, and many other evil passions. Let us remember that people who cultivate a contented spirit, are always happy with whatever they have: discontented people are never happy; whatever they have, they will still be wishing for something else: for it is quite impossible for anybody to have everything he wishes for. But we must go back to St. Paul, standing before the Court of Areopagus, and desired there to give an account of his doctrines. The Apostle, glad to have such an opportunity of preaching the Gospel before the chief men in Athens, now stood up, and spake gently and kindly. He began by telling them, that as he had gone about their city looking at the different images to which they bowed down, and at the different altars set up for the worship of those whom they called gods, he had found one, bearing an inscription "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD." This showed that they were "too superstitious," for to worship a God of whom they knew nothing, was superstition rather than religion. This ignorance, therefore, St. Paul now proposed to remove, so that the Unknown God might no longer be so to them: "Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." Before we proceed with what St. Paul said to the Athenians on this subject, we will see how they came to dedicate an altar to "the Unknown God." Some time before this, there had been a plague or pestilence in Athens; that is, a bad illness, which spread from one person to another, until thousands of people died of it. In vain did the Athenians pray to all their false gods to stop it: such prayers of course _could_ have no effect, and the pestilence went on killing the people. At last a number of sheep were taken to Mars' Hill, and there set at liberty, to go wherever they pleased, followed by men, appointed to watch them. Whenever one of these sheep laid down, it was immediately sacrificed to "the propitious god." "Propitious" means favourable, kind, willing to grant a request, or supply a want. The sheep were thus sacrificed to that one amongst the gods, who would be kind enough to put an end to the pestilence. Soon afterwards it did please the Almighty to remove this terrible plague: the Athenians of course attributed their deliverance to one of their gods; but as they could not tell which one of them had been "the propitious god," they set up this altar to "the Unknown God," who had come to their help in the time of trouble.