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 his companions:  "Observe  the  poor  little  sheep, how  mild  it  is  among  the  goats;  our  blessed  Lord walked  as  meekly  and  humbly  among  the  Pharisees" At  another  time,  seeing  a  lambkin  devoured by a  hog,  he  said:  "Ah!  little  lamb,  how  lively dost  thou  represent  my  Saviour's  death." St. Basil the  Great  says  of  the  rose  among  its  thorns: " The  most  pleasant  things  in  this  world  are  mingled with  sorrow.  The  rose  is  a  fair  flower,  but  it  puts me  in  mind  of  sin,  for  which  the  earth  has  been condemned  to  bring  forth  thorns."

My Prayer-Book  aims  to  point  out  the  brighter side of  life  —  the  silver  lining  to  the  cloud  o'erhead — the  sunshine  that  follows  the  rain  —  the  sweet little wildflowers  that  grow  by  the  wayside  amid thorns and  briers.

" Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity Which  like  the  toad,  ugly  and  venomous, Wears  yet  a  precious  jewel  in  his  head."

— As  You  Like  It.

"The good  are  better  made  by  ill, As  odors  crushed  are  sweeter  still."

— Rogers,  Jacquelin.

"As aromatic  plants  bestow No  spicy  fragrance  while  they  grow, But  crushed  or  trodden  to  the  ground Diffuse  their  balmy  sweets  around."

— Goldsmith,  The  Captivity.

The Royal  Psalmist  voices  the  sentiments  of  a deeply  religious  soul  in  many  expressions  of  grateful praise to  God,  of  joy  in  the  Lord,  and  of  absolute