The very words John so thoughtfully chooses as his leading words bear
the distinct impress of this, like the sharply indented stamp of the
mint on the new coin. Two such words stand out above all others,
"believe" and "witness." The first actually occurs oftenest, sounding
out like the dominant chord of music running throughout a symphony. The
second is like the chief warp-thread into which the fabric is being
woven.

The two words are really twins, born at the same time, of the same
mother. They grow up together and work in perfect accord. The witnessing
is that men may understand and believe. It's the servant leading up to
the belief that shall become the mastering thing. The belief is servant,
too, in turn, leading up to the witnessing that becomes the mastering
passion in those who believe.

These words are worth digging into for the fine gold that lies hidden
within waiting the miner's pick. The word "believe" is a nugget of pure
gold, whether you take our English word or John's word lying underneath.
The underneath word, that John uses in his own mother tongue, runs a
sliding scale of meaning.

It's a ladder rising from bottom round to topmost. It means to be
persuaded that a thing is true; then to place confidence in it, to
trust. And _trust_ always contains the idea of _risk_. The heart-meaning
always is that you _risk_ something very precious to you, risk it to the
point of heart-breaking disaster if your trust proves wrong.

Our English word is of very close kin. It runs the same sort of sliding