Page:The Parable of Creation.djvu/69

Rh mslodies by means of our knowledge of them, why then that knowledge has advanced into understanding, realization, joy of soul, by its practical adaptation to the uses for which it was designed. It may remain mere dry knowledge, and with many learners it does, but with those who come into full comprehension of its adaptability to the making of real music, by the practical application of its principles, it has been elevated out of the memory and into the understanding.

These may seem small matters to the thoughtless mind, but they are not. They are illustrations of a most important principle. Knowledge is one thing, understanding what we know is quite another. Knowledge is an exceedingly good thing as a stepping stone to understanding—a necessary thing indeed; but alone and by itself, and without its proper increment, its value is infinitely diminished.

But the importance of the principle and of these very homely illustrations of it lies in the fact that it is precisely so with all things of spiritual import. Stowing away in the memory outward statements of religious doctrine however true, formulas of faith, or scripture texts however well learned, is one thing. But to gain a true idea of them; to lift them out of the memory into spiritual understanding and realization; thus to see their beauty and feel their rationality, to hold them as the delight of the soul