"To be sure, he will; and he need not try very long either, if he really wishes to know it. The will of God, boys, is at the bottom of all our duties; and an honest man, yes, or boy either, can commonly tell what God will think to be right or wrong in his conduct. You know where a great many of our duties are very plainly written down for us; do you not?" "Oh yes, sir; in the New Testament, which tells us of what our Saviour said and did." "True. And what our Saviour commanded, boys, God commanded; for He is God. But besides this, when it is not exactly written down in the New Testament what we should do, still if we will think, we shall very often find out what to do, from what is written." "Uncle Philip, we almost always know what you mean; but now, we do not quite understand you." "Thank you, boys, for telling me that you do not know what I mean: always tell any person who is trying to teach you something, when you do not understand what is said to you. Now I will try to make what I said plainer to you. The New Testament does not say any thing about your going to school; does it?" "No, sir." "Who sends you to school, boys, and pays your teachers for instructing you?" "Our parents, Uncle Philip." "Very well. Now suppose that John Carter here, should wish, instead of going to school, to do, what I am very sure he never did do: suppose he should determine to play the truant. The Bible does not say a boy shall not play the truant, does it?" "No, Uncle Philip." "But if John Carter should play the truant, he would, in doing so, disobey what God has commanded in the Bible just as much as if the Bible did say 'A boy shall not play the truant;' for the Bible does say, '_Children obey your parents_,' and he could not be a truant without disobeying his parents, who bade him go to school." "Uncle Philip, we understand you very well now." "There is another thing I wish you to understand, boys. John Carter, as you see, would not only disobey his parents, which is wicked, but he would also commit a _sin_ against God. That is always the thing to look at first. When we are going to do something that we are not very sure is right, we should always stop to ask ourselves whether God will be pleased with it. But I have said enough to you about our duty for this time. Now for the ants I promised to tell you of. And the first sort I shall mention are great fighters." "Fighters, Uncle Philip! What do they fight about?"