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 simplicity, the  austerity  and  self-denial  of  his  life, superadded such  acquired  virtues  as  to  merit  from the lips  of  his  Saviour  the  title  of  angel. In his early boyhood,  in  his  childhood  almost,  leaving home  and  parents  he  fled  into  the  desert alone, and  there  for  thirty  years  he  communed with God — a  true  child  of  Nature,  the  wild  beasts for his  only  companions,  clothed  in  a  garment of camel's  hair  with  a  leathern  girdle,  and  locusts and wild  honey  for  his  food. For thirty  long years, until  the  very  recollection  of  him  had  passed from the  popular  mind,  so  that  when,  like  the  morning star,  he  reappeared  to  usher  in  the  Sun  of  Justice, the people  hailed  him  enthusiastically  as  the  promised Messias. That was  the  crucial  moment  of John's  life,  and,  as  is  usual  with  heroes,  it  developed his true  greatness. " And  he  confessed  and  did  not deny,  and  he  confessed,  I  am  not  the  Christ." The whirlwind  of  popular  adulation  would  have turned any  head  less  steady. He knew  that,  like  the morning star,  the  most  brilliant  of  all,  he  shone  with a borrowed  light,  destined  to  diminish  and  fade  away before the  arisen  sun. He was  a  burning  and  a  shining light,  indeed,  but  he  shone  not  for  himself  but to reveal  the  Saviour. His mission  was  to  cast  upon the earth  the  first  sparks  of  the  love  of  Christ. No hollow reed  he,  to  be  shaken  by  the  winds  of  flattery; no courtier  he,  craving  for  the  ease  and  homage  of royalty. Though a  word  would  have  deified  him, though he  disappointed  his  disciples  and  the  whole people, he  still  persisted :  "  I  am  not  the  Christ."