"Of the positive joys of heaven we can form no conception; but its negative delights form a sufficiently attractive picture,--no pain; no thirst; no hunger; no horror of the past; no fear of the future; no failure of mental capacity; no intellectual deficiency; no morbid imaginations; no follies; no stupidities; but above all, no insulted feelings; no wounded affections; no despised love or unrequited regard; no hate, envy, jealousy, or indignation of or at others; no falsehood, dishonesty, dissimulation, hypocrisy, grief or remorse. In a word," said Professor Wilson, "to end where I began, no sin and no suffering." 871 BELIEVE AND LIVE. O how unlike the complex works of man, Heaven's easy, artless, unencumbered plan! No clustering ornaments to clog the pile; From ostentation, as from weakness free, It stands majestic in its own simplicity. Inscribed above the portal, from afar, Conspicuous as the brightness of a star, Legible only by the light they give, Stand the soul-quickening words--Believe and Live. Too many, shocked at what should charm them most, Despise the plain direction, and are lost. Heaven on such terms! (they cry with proud disdain,) Incredible impossible, and vain! Rebel, because 'tis easy to obey; And scorn, for its own sake, the gracious way. 872 IS THAT ALSO THINE? A beautiful reply is recorded of a peasant, whose master was displaying to him the grandeur of his estates. Farms, houses, and forests were pointed out in succession, on every hand, as the property of the rich proprietor, who summed up finally by saying, "In short, all that you can see, in every direction, belongs to me." The poor man looked thoughtful for a moment; then, pointing up to heaven, solemnly replied, "And is _that_, also, thine?" 873 THE BETTER LAND. "I hear thee speak of the better land, Thou callest its children a happy band: Mother! oh where is that radiant shore? Shall we not seek it and weep no more? Is it where the flower of the orange blows, And the fire-flies glance through the myrtle boughs?" "Not there, not there, my child!" "Is it where the feathery palm trees rise, And the date grows ripe under sunny skies? Or 'midst the green islands of glittering seas, Where fragrant forests perfume the breeze, And strange, bright birds, on their starry wings Bear the rich hues of all glorious things?" "Not there, not there, my child!" "Is it far away, in some region old, Where the rivers wander o'er sands of gold?-- Where the burning rays of the ruby shine, And the diamond lights up the secret mine, And the pearl gleams forth from the coral strand? Is it there, sweet mother, that better land?" "Not there, not there, my child!"