When you go into a large library to select books you will always find that they are classified. Some of the shelves have books of history, others have books of poetry, and so on throughout the entire library. In this way God has classified different people in this text. One class is called wise, and the others are called foolish. A companion of wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. In the same way there are good boys and bad boys, good girls and bad girls; and when you choose your companions it is important that you should choose them among the good, and not among the bad. I think you will better understand the teaching of the text, when I show you this one stick that has been burned black, or charred, as we say. Now here are several clean sticks which have not been burned, which are white and not tarnished. Let this black stick represent the boys who smoke, or chew, or swear, or lie, or deceive their parents; boys or girls who do not go to Sunday-school, who do not obey their parents, and who do not love God. These clean sticks will represent good boys and girls. Now suppose the good boys and girls choose the bad boys and girls as their companions and playmates; what do you think would be the result? I will mix these sticks together. I am sure that nobody would expect that the white sticks would transfer their purity and cleanness to this black stick. When I mix them, or rub them together, the black sticks get no whiter, but all the white sticks get blacker. [Illustration: White and Charred Sticks.] That is the way it always is with the boys who keep bad company. Instead of exerting a good influence, so as to reform and purify, and make good boys of the bad boys, the bad boys make bad boys of the good boys. At first the good boys are horrified at what they hear and see the bad boys say and do. After a while it ceases to be unpleasant to them. A little later they may possibly laugh at the bad boys, but after a while they will come to like the bad boys, and finally they will do as the bad boys do and become like them in conduct and in character. Perhaps you have seen boys who like to take cork and burn it in the candle or fire, and then blacken their faces with it, so as to make them look like colored people. Now, it is not the best thing for a white boy to try to look like a colored boy, but if he does rub this black on his face, he can wash it off with soap and water. But when a good boy goes with bad boys and his character becomes tarnished and blackened, he cannot cleanse and purify it so easily. He not only gets a bad character but a bad reputation as well, both of which are very difficult to cleanse or to get rid of. [Illustration: Glass of Water and Bottle of Ink.]