O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so-called, which some professing, have erred concerning the faith.
We find the above text in 1 Tim. vi. 20, 21. An old author has shrewdly observed, that, could some power offer anyone the knowledge of the secrets of the Universe, on condition of his abandoning forever the company and associations of his fellows, he would decline the opportunity of satisfying every curiosity, rather than have none to whom he might impart each new discovery. The passion to relate something, to become an object of admiration by reason of bearing some unexpected news, is recognized as a general characteristic of human nature. Not unnaturally, it is accompanied by a corresponding purpose, equally strong and determined, namely, to convince the hearer. To excite astonishment, to triumph over incredulity, to be acknowledged as the originator of an acceptable proposition, possesses such a fascination for mortals, that, knowing this, we are instinctively on guard whenever any one professes to have any remarkable or unusually welcome information.
