going to take the photograph; it was, also, the astronomer. For a long
time he worked in the dimness, screwing tubes and polishing lenses and
adjusting reflectors, and only after much labor the finely focused
instrument was brought to bear. Then he blew out the light, and left
the star to do its work upon the plate alone.

The day's task for the Christian is to bring his instrument to bear.
Having done that he may blow out his candle. All the evidences of
Christianity which have brought him there, all aids to Faith, all acts
of worship, all the leverages of the Church, all Prayer and
Meditation, all girding of the Will--these lesser processes, these
candle-light activities for that supreme hour, may be set aside. But,
remember, it is but for an hour. The wise man will be he who quickest
lights his candle, the wisest he who never lets it out. Tomorrow, the
next moment, he, a poor, darkened, blurred soul, may need it again to
focus the Image better, to take a mote off the lens, to clear the
mirror from a breath with which the world has dulled it.

No readjustment is ever required on behalf of the Star. That is one
great fixed point in this shifting universe. But _the world moves_.
And each day, each hour, demands a further motion and readjustment for
the soul. A telescope in an observatory follows a star by clockwork,
but the clockwork of the soul is called _the Will_. Hence, while the
soul in passivity reflects the Image of the Lord, the Will in intense
activity holds the mirror in position lest the drifting motion of the
world bear it beyond the line of vision. To "follow Christ" is largely
to keep the soul in such position as will allow for the motion of the
earth. And this calculated counteracting of the movements of the
world, this holding of the mirror exactly opposite to the Mirrored,
this steadying of the faculties unerringly through cloud and