to pagan, the pride of the Christian, the giver of confidence amongst all men. Hard to get at, yet it is at the foundation of all those branches of knowledge which relate to the study of the Creation. Aristoteles studied natural history, that is, the plants and animals which came before him, especially. He recorded their description, noted their reproduction, and tried to make out their resemblances. He noticed the growth of things, and the decay of the surface of the earth, and having the facts and truths before him, he argued upon them. His master, Plato, was not a naturalist, but accepting the truths handed down to him by those who were observers of nature, he generalized about them, and got ideas by thinking out the bearings of the truths. He loved the ideal, and wrote, “Behold this world! You will find that its efficient cause is God, by whom it was brought into being; its moving cause, the goodness of the Creator.” He could no more occupy time by studying the structure of the flowers, plants, and sea-shells, than Aristoteles could in imagining or speculating on the causes of things. Both desired the truth, and tried to get it in different manners; but as at the present day there are moral philosophers and naturalists with totally different kinds of mind and habits of thought, so in those old days the master and pupil never worked together. The master gave way to his grand imagination, and the pupil was strictly a matter-of-fact man. Aristoteles remained at Athens until he was thirty-seven years of age, when the death of Plato, in 347 B.C., happened. Before that time, however, he had become a man of note, and the Athenians sent him on an embassy to his friend and former patron, Philip of Macedon. It appears that he was able to serve his adopted country; but he made a mistake which all naturalists should avoid—he became a politician. His position at Athens became uncomfortable, and he left the city after the death of Plato, and, accompanied by a fellow-disciple of the great teacher, went into Asia Minor. They were invited by the Prince of Atarneus, named Hermeias, who had received lessons from Aristoteles. This man was once the slave of a banker, and when at Athens received a liberal education. Returning to his native country, he fought for Eubulus, the King of Atarneus, successfully against the Persians. On the death of Eubulus he was raised to the throne, and gladly welcomed one of the men who had given him knowledge, and, therefore, power. The romance of Aristoteles’ life followed quickly, for, unfortunately, Hermeias was captured by the Persians under a Greek general, after Aristoteles had been three years with him. He was put to death, and Aristoteles fled to Mitylene, the chief city of the neighbouring island of Lesbos. Hermeias had a sister, Pythias, and Aristoteles, knowing her excellent character and disposition, and being aware of the sad fate which she would suffer,