W. The hope and fear of their condition will not overcome what is important. They are not as thou wouldst have them, nor will hope and fear change their condition. Two wrongs will not make right. The wrong of ignorance can not be remedied by ignorance. The king fears his subjects, and his subjects fear him. Both are controlled by fear; but their fears do neither party any good. The king hopes submission to his commands, and his subjects hope his commands may not be burdensome. What are hope and fear, then, but motives of selfishness? The king is selfish in requiring submission, and his subjects are selfish in hoping for greater leniency, and less oppressive burdens. They are alike. Both conditions are equal in the scale of wisdom. Thou knowest, Thomas, that no such motives control the infinite Mind. Thou knowest that his gifts are bestowed upon minds, not because he fears or hopes any thing to be taken from, or added to, his happiness. Thou knowest that wisdom, which comes from that Being, must agree with the character of its cause; and thou knowest that all wisdom, which does not seek, without hope or fear, the good of mind, is not of God, but is selfish and wrong. By this rule, thou wilt do thy duty to the needy, not because thou fearest or hopest a compensation for thy service, or thy neglect, but because the needy demand thy aid. When thy aid is not needed, thou canst go on thy way, but when thou seest the mind of thy brother in the bondage of hope and fear, be not angry with him, but take him in thy charge, and open his eyes to see the gifts of God distributed without money and without price; so that his mind may be inspired with the wisdom of the free, and not with the fear of the slave. T. Thy words are sweeter than honey in the honey-comb, and the law, which thou wouldst recommend is the law of love, uniting the powerful and the weak, the wise and the unwise, the free and the bondman, in one great family of minds, each serving the other and doing what will promote the happiness of the whole without diminishing the enjoyment of any. But minds often act as slaves, who dread the lash of a tyrant. They are submissive, because they are afraid to be otherwise. They wish to do otherwise, but are restrained, as are slaves, through fear. They work in hope, not of doing good, but of receiving what the king has promised. The wisdom of God controls no desire of their minds. Nothing but selfishness vitalizes their minds for active employment.