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Blockchain for Teens: With Case

Studies and Examples of Blockchain


Across Various Industries 1st Edition
Brian Wu
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Blockchain
for Teens
With Case Studies and Examples of
Blockchain Across Various Industries

Brian Wu
Bridget Wu
Blockchain for Teens
With Case Studies and
Examples of Blockchain Across
Various Industries

Brian Wu
Bridget Wu
Blockchain for Teens: With Case Studies and Examples of Blockchain
Across Various Industries

Brian Wu Bridget Wu
Livingston, NJ, USA Livingston, NJ, USA

ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4842-8807-8 ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4842-8808-5


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-8808-5

Copyright © 2023 by Brian Wu and Bridget Wu


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Table of Contents
About the Authors��������������������������������������������������������������������������������xi

About the Technical Reviewer�����������������������������������������������������������xiii


Acknowledgments������������������������������������������������������������������������������xv
Introduction��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xvii

Chapter 1: Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology�������������������������1


What Is Blockchain?����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������2
How the Blockchain Works�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������9
Block Header�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������12
Block Body�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������16
Consensus Algorithms����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������19
Proof of Work (PoW)���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������20
Proof of Stake (PoS)��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������25
The Evolution of Monetary System���������������������������������������������������������������������28
A Barter System��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������28
Commodity Money�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������30
Paper Money��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������33
Plastic Money������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������34
Mobile Payments�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������36

iii
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Understanding Cryptocurrency���������������������������������������������������������������������������39
Cryptocurrency Market����������������������������������������������������������������������������������40
What Is Crypto Volatility?�������������������������������������������������������������������������������42
Difference Between Coin and Token��������������������������������������������������������������47
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������49

Chapter 2: Cryptography: The Backbone of Blockchain Security�������51


The Basics of Cryptography��������������������������������������������������������������������������������52
Symmetric Key Cryptography������������������������������������������������������������������������53
Asymmetric Key Cryptography����������������������������������������������������������������������57
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������75

Chapter 3: Bitcoin: The Future of Money��������������������������������������������77


Bitcoin History�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������78
Early Attempts�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������78
The Financial Crisis of 2008��������������������������������������������������������������������������82
Getting to Know Bitcoin������������������������������������������������������������������������������������104
Bitcoin Unit��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������105
Bitcoin Halving���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������106
Bitcoin Wallet�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������107
Bitcoin Network�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������114
Transactions������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������117
The Transaction Data Structure�������������������������������������������������������������������118
Transaction Pool������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������124
Transaction Fees�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������125
Lighting Network�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������126
How Lightning Network Works��������������������������������������������������������������������129
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������133

iv
Table of Contents

Chapter 4: Ethereum: A Gateway to Cryptocurrency������������������������135


The History of Ethereum�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������136
Whitepaper Released (November 2013)������������������������������������������������������136
Yellow Paper Released (April 2014)�������������������������������������������������������������137
The Birth of Ethereum (July 2014)���������������������������������������������������������������137
Launching the Ether Sale (July–September 2014)��������������������������������������137
Ethereum Released (June 2015)�����������������������������������������������������������������138
DAO Attack (July 2016)��������������������������������������������������������������������������������138
Ethereum 2.0 (The Merge)���������������������������������������������������������������������������139
Getting to Know Ethereum��������������������������������������������������������������������������������142
Ether (Unit)���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������142
Gas, Gas Price, and Gas Limit����������������������������������������������������������������������143
Ethereum Account���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������146
Smart Contract��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������149
Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)�����������������������������������������������������������������151
Ethereum Nodes������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������156
Ethereum Clients�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������158
Ethereum Network���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������169
How Ethereum Works����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������171
The Structure of a Transaction��������������������������������������������������������������������172
Transaction Receipt�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������174
Block������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������175
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������181

v
Table of Contents

Chapter 5: Smart Contracts and Dapps: From Theory


to Practice����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������183
Introducing Remix���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������184
File Explorers�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������185
Solidity Compiler�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������186
Deploy and Run Transactions����������������������������������������������������������������������187
Other Modules���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������189
Writing Your First Smart Contract���������������������������������������������������������������������190
Write a Contract�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������190
Compile a Contract��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������196
Deploy and Run a Contract��������������������������������������������������������������������������198
Taking Control of Your First Ethereum Wallet����������������������������������������������������201
Decentralized Applications (Dapps)������������������������������������������������������������������209
Getting Started��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������210
Connect to Metamask����������������������������������������������������������������������������������213
Tokens Standard�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������220
ERC-20���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������221
ERC-721�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������224
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������227

Chapter 6: NFT: Crypto As Collectibles���������������������������������������������229


What Is an NFT?������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������230
Fungible vs. Nonfungible����������������������������������������������������������������������������������230
A Brief History of NFTs��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������233
Applications of NFTs�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������235
Images���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������235
Videos����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������236
GIFs��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������236

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Audio�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������238
Digital Real Estate���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������238
Trading Cards����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������239
Video Game Items����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������240
Fashion��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������241
3D Models����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������241
Text��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������241
Domain Names��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������242
Examples of NFTs���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������244
Selling Points of NFTs���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������246
Scarcity�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������246
Authenticity�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������246
Easy to Use with Cryptocurrency�����������������������������������������������������������������246
Ownership���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������247
Permanence������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������247
Efficiency�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������247
Royalties������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������247
Cheap to Create�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������248
Creating Your Own NFT�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������248
NFT Market Place����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������253
OpenSea.io��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������255
Rarible���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������256
SuperRare����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������257
Foundation���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������258
Nifty Gateway����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������259
Axie Marketplace�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������260
NBA Top Shot Marketplace��������������������������������������������������������������������������261

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Mintable�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������262
Larva Labs/CryptoPunks������������������������������������������������������������������������������263
The Future of NFT���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������263
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������265

Chapter 7: Metaverse: The World Reimagined����������������������������������267


Introduction to Metaverse���������������������������������������������������������������������������������268
What Is the Metaverse?�������������������������������������������������������������������������������268
The Brief History of Metaverse��������������������������������������������������������������������269
Characteristics of the Metaverse�����������������������������������������������������������������272
AR, VR, MR, and XR�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������276
Augmented Reality (AR)�������������������������������������������������������������������������������276
Virtual Reality (VR)���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������280
Mixed Reality (MR)��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������284
Extended Reality (XR)����������������������������������������������������������������������������������285
Understanding Metaverse Layers���������������������������������������������������������������������286
Experience���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������287
Discovery�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������287
Creator Economy�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������289
Spatial Computing���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������289
Decentralization�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������290
Human Interface������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������291
Infrastructure�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������292
Crypto NFTs Games in the Metaverse���������������������������������������������������������������293
Business Model in the Game Industry���������������������������������������������������������294
Example of Play-to-Earn NFT Games����������������������������������������������������������299
Virtual Real Estate in the Metaverse�����������������������������������������������������������������303
What Is Virtual Land?�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������304
Decentraland (A Case Study)�����������������������������������������������������������������������304

viii
Table of Contents

The Future of the Metaverse�����������������������������������������������������������������������������310


Metaverse Stages 1: Emerging (2021–2030)����������������������������������������������311
Metaverse Stages 2: Advanced (2030–2050)����������������������������������������������312
Metaverse Stages 3: Mature (After 2050)����������������������������������������������������312
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������312

Chapter 8: Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Reinventing


Financial Services����������������������������������������������������������������������������315
What Is Decentralized Finance (DeFi)?�������������������������������������������������������������317
The Structure of DeFi����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������319
Layer 1: The Settlement Layer���������������������������������������������������������������������320
Layer 2: The Asset Layer������������������������������������������������������������������������������321
Layer 3: The Protocol Layer�������������������������������������������������������������������������322
Layer 4: The Application Layer���������������������������������������������������������������������323
Level 5: The Aggregation Layer�������������������������������������������������������������������323
Decentralized Stablecoin����������������������������������������������������������������������������������324
Stablecoin History���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������325
Types of Stablecoins������������������������������������������������������������������������������������325
A Deep Dive into Stablecoins—Maker (DAI)������������������������������������������������326
Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs)����������������������������������������������������������������������334
Type of Decentralized Exchanges����������������������������������������������������������������336
Automated Market Makers (AMMs)�������������������������������������������������������������337
AMM Basic Concepts�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������338
Decentralized Exchange Aggregators����������������������������������������������������������351
A Deep Dive into the AMM DEXs—Uniswap������������������������������������������������352
Decentralized Lending and Borrowing��������������������������������������������������������������368
An Overview of the DeFi Lending Platform—Aave��������������������������������������368

ix
Table of Contents

Decentralized Insurance�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������379
Popular DeFi Insurance Platform�����������������������������������������������������������������381
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������383

Chapter 9: The Future of Blockchain������������������������������������������������385


The Evolution of the Internet�����������������������������������������������������������������������������386
Web 1.0 (1989–2004)—World Wide Web����������������������������������������������������387
Web 2.0 (2004–Present)—Participative Social Web�����������������������������������389
Web 3.0—Decentralization�������������������������������������������������������������������������390
Blockchain in Finance���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������392
Letters of Credit in Trade Finance���������������������������������������������������������������������395
Blockchain in a Supply Chain����������������������������������������������������������������������������401
Document Management������������������������������������������������������������������������������402
Integration of Various Centralized IT Software Systems������������������������������403
Lack of Transparency Regarding Data���������������������������������������������������������403
Blockchain in the Food Supply Chain Industry��������������������������������������������406
Other Sectors of Supply Chain Industries����������������������������������������������������410
Blockchain in Healthcare����������������������������������������������������������������������������������411
Health Data Accuracy����������������������������������������������������������������������������������411
Health Data Interoperability�������������������������������������������������������������������������412
Insurance Claims�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������413
Health Data Management����������������������������������������������������������������������������416
Disease Prevention��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������417
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������417

Index�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������419

x
About the Authors
Brian Wu holds a master’s degree in computer
science and is an author and senior blockchain
architect. Brian has over 20 years of hands-
on experience across various technologies,
including blockchain, DeFi, big data, cloud, AI,
system, and infrastructure. He has worked on
more than 50 projects in his career.
He has written several books, published
by O’Reilly and Packt, on popular fields within
blockchain, including Learn Ethereum (first
edition), Hands-On Smart Contract Development with Hyperledger Fabric
V2, Hyperledger Cookbook, Blockchain Quick Start Guide, Security Tokens
and Stablecoins Quick Start Guide, Blockchain By Example, and Seven
NoSQL Databases in a Week.

Bridget Wu is a blockchain, AI, and Metaverse


enthusiast. She has had a passion to explore
NFTs and the Metaverse beginning in 2020
and is also a programmer and artist who
enjoys developing projects in her free time.
She has hands-on experience with HTML,
CSS, JavaScript, Java, Python, and writing
algorithms. Combined with over a decade of
practice in drawing, painting, and digital art,
her unique background in machine learning
and graphic design makes her eager to pioneer
the NFT, Metaverse.

xi
About the Technical Reviewer
Imran Bashir has an MSc in information
security from Royal Holloway, University of
London. He has a background in software
development, solution architecture,
infrastructure management, information
security, and IT service management. His
current focus is on the latest technologies, such
as blockchain, IoT, and quantum computing.
He is a member of the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the
British Computer Society (BCS). He loves to write. His book on blockchain
technology, Mastering Blockchain, is a widely accepted standard text on
the subject. He is also the author of Blockchain Consensus, the first formal
book on the subject introducing classical, blockchain, and quantum
consensus protocols. He has worked in various senior technical roles
for different organizations around the world. Currently, he is living and
working in London, UK.

xiii
Acknowledgments
We thank everyone who made this book possible, including family and
friends who supported us, colleagues who encouraged us, and reviewers
and editors who polished our work.

xv
Introduction
Blockchain for Teens is a beginner-friendly guide for young people looking
to build a basic foundation in blockchain technologies. Similar to the
Internet in the 1990s, blockchain now promises to revolutionize the world
by reforming current business models. In this new era, economies will
become decentralized—a concept where every individual contributes
to and benefits from the network. Blockchain’s wide appeal comes from
its ability to ensure transparent, secure, and tamper-proof transactions
without the need for a central authority. With clear explanations covering
essential topics, including blockchain, cryptocurrency, cryptography,
Dapps, smart contract, NFTs, decentralized finance (DeFi), and the
Metaverse, Blockchain for Teens will help the reader develop various skills
to get them started on their Blockchain journey.
Chapter 1, “Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology,” will talk
about the basics of blockchain. First, we will discuss how the current
monetary system works and how blockchain technology impacts
money, business, and the modern world. Then we look into how a
blockchain works by going over each step in the transaction process and
the PoW and PoS consensus algorithms that form the backbone of the
blockchain. We continue with the evolution of monetary systems, from
barter to cryptocurrency. At the end of this chapter, we briefly introduce
cryptocurrency and some basic concepts of the crypto market.
Chapter 2, “Cryptography: The Backbone of Blockchain Security,” gives
a more thorough understanding of cryptography. This chapter will help
enrich your knowledge of symmetric key cryptography and asymmetric
key cryptography. You will also learn how digital signatures work.

xvii
Introduction

The chapter covers the hash algorithm, and we walk through elliptic curve
cryptography to understand how it works. At the end of this chapter, you
will learn how to generate an Ethereum address.
The main purpose of Chapter 3, “Bitcoin: The Future of Money,” is to
present a basic concept of the Bitcoin network. The chapter starts with a
discussion on the history of Bitcoin. Then we learn about the Bitcoin wallet
and Bitcoin network. Next, we also cover Bitcoin transactions to familiarize
you with the key concepts behind the Bitcoin blockchain. Lastly, we briefly
introduce Lighting Network.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, is
considered a distributed Turing machine machine–you’ll learn more
about what this means in the book. In Chapter 4, “Ethereum: A Gateway
to Cryptocurrency,” you will learn about the history of Ethereum as well
as the key components behind Ethereum. The chapter also goes over
Ethereum nodes and Ethereum clients while providing examples. By
delving into the Ethereum architecture, you will understand how the
Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) works, how smart contract Opcode
is executed within the EVM, and the structure of the block, state, and
transactions in EVM.
The best way to understand how the Ethereum smart contract works
is to practice writing a smart contract and Dapps. Chapter 5, “Smart
Contracts and Dapps: From Theory to Practice,” will familiarize you with
smart contracts and Dapps through a hands-on learning experience. You
will write your first smart contract and deploy it to the public Ethereum
network. We also demonstrate the basics of Dapp and web3.js and
how Dapp interacts with smart contracts by connecting with the
Metamask wallet.
NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, represent the future of collectibles and
the expanding digital resource economy. NFTs will change not only art
but also business, finance, and culture as mainstream interest in NFTs
continues to grow. Chapter 6, “NFT: Crypto As Collectibles,” gives you a

xviii
Introduction

general introduction to what NFTs are. Along the way, you will learn the
applications of NFTs, the difference between fungible and nonfungible
items, and the selling points of NFTs. We also provide examples of NFTs
and cover the current NFT marketplace. By the end of this chapter, you will
create your own NFT in the OpenSea market.
Although the Metaverse is still in its early stages, it is rapidly gaining
more attention in recent years. The Metaverse will be a 3D Internet that
is based on new technologies including virtual reality (VR), mixed reality
(MR), augmented reality (AR), blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI),
and the Internet of Things (IoT). Chapter 7, “Metaverse: The World
Reimagined,” will help you understand the basics of the Metaverse. We
will also discuss immersive technology. By exploring the different layers
of the Metaverse, we will learn about different products or services in the
Metaverse landscape, including NFTs and cryptos. By entering a virtual
blockchain world, you will experience the current stage of virtual real
estate in the Metaverse. At the end of this chapter, we provide an overview
of the future of the Metaverse.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) represents an innovative way to reshape
the global financial industry. Chapter 8, “Decentralized Finance (DeFi):
Reinventing Financial Services,” will introduce you to DeFi’s core concepts
and structure, as well as provide an in-depth look at specific products in
DeFi. We will discuss the most popular decentralized stablecoin and deep
dive into the Maker stablecoin to understand how it works. Later, we also
explore the most popular DEX—Uniswap. Finally, we provide a complete
walkthrough on how to deploy your own ERC-20 token in the public
blockchain, create a liquidity pool, add liquidity, swap your custom token,
and get a staking reward in the Uniswap platform. In the decentralized
lending and borrowing platform, we demonstrate how to lend, withdraw,
swap, borrow, and repay crypto assets in the Aave platform. We also
discuss decentralized insurance.

xix
Introduction

At the end of the book, Chapter 9, “The Future of Blockchain,” we


will review topics from previous chapters in a discussion on the future
of blockchain. You will learn about the evolution of the Internet and
conclude with an overview of real-life examples of blockchain across
various industries.
It is assumed that you have little to no experience in a professional
blockchain environment. This book provides a general introduction to
critical aspects associated with blockchain. We will not provide too many
technical details, such as writing an advanced smart contract and setting
up a professional development environment. Instead, we will give you
practical information on the most important and latest concepts within
blockchain, which will give you a strong basis for entering the world of
blockchain.

xx
CHAPTER 1

Blockchain:
A Groundbreaking
Technology
In recent years, there has been a rising number of Americans who own
cryptocurrency. Even among those who don’t, most Americans have heard
of cryptocurrencies—does “Bitcoin” sound familiar? If you have heard
about blockchain, but you are unsure of how it works, then do not worry;
you are not alone! Although blockchain may seem like an intimidating
topic at first, we are here to help you become familiar with important
concepts of blockchain.
This chapter will begin with the basics of blockchain. Then, we will
discuss how the blockchain works and gain a solid understanding of
consensus algorithms. Next, we will learn about the evolution of the
monetary system and how blockchain technology impacts money,
business, and the modern world. Finally, at the end of the chapter, we will
provide an overview of cryptocurrency.
In this chapter, we cover the following specific topics on blockchain:

• What is blockchain?

• How the blockchain works

© Brian Wu and Bridget Wu 2023 1


B. Wu and B. Wu, Blockchain for Teens, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-8808-5_1
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology

• Consensus algorithms

• The evolution of monetary system

• Understanding cryptocurrency

What Is Blockchain?
At the heart of all cryptocurrencies, we can find the revolutionary and
decentralized technology known as blockchain. It’s important to be clear
about what we mean by decentralization, as this concept is frequently used
in blockchain. Let’s start by looking at the opposite of decentralization:
centralization is when authority is held by a specific individual,
organization, or location.
Figure 1-1 shows an example of a centralized organization.

Figure 1-1. Centralization example

2
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
end and not the end itself. The test for the pupil is to see if he can
put in his own words the vital meaning of the author. It should not be
his purpose to attempt to improve on the writer’s style. It is true that
some of the world’s greatest literary expressions would lose their
highest significance if put in any other than their original form. This
applies especially to verse form, for here the rhythmic movement is
an inseparable element in the full expression of the idea. Some one
has well said: “Style grows to the thought as the sea-shell to its
occupant.” But at this point the aim is not to teach the pupil the
mechanics of literature. He must be taught to think for himself and
use the knowledge he gains so that it will be valuable in his own life.

Three Definite Aims to Gain Knowledge


Let us keep in mind the fact that the pupil is continually seeking
information which will help him to live better. He is constantly trying
to increase his cultural and practical powers. Of course book
learning does not furnish all, but its contribution is immeasurable in
its importance. Hence the pupil must learn to master the printed
word as well as the spoken word. Here are three definite ends or
aims to serve as motive power in getting the thought of the author:
First, the student must seek ideas and not words.
Second, he must seek to classify and organize facts.
Third, he must seek to turn his knowledge to some use.

Each Aim Illustrated


To illustrate the first aim, let us take the following lines from
Hamlet:

Give me that man


That is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him
In my heart’s core, aye, in my heart of hearts,
As I do thee.
Shakespeare wished to point out the blessedness of that virtue,
Independence. It is of little consequence to the pupil in this first step
of his growth to make a comparison between Shakespeare’s method
of expressing this truth, with that of Elbert Hubbard, who, speaking of
Rowan, that man who delivered an important message to Garcia in
the jungles of Cuba when we had decided to go to war with Spain,
said:

By the Eternal! there is a man whose form should be cast in


deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college of the
land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instructions
about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebræ which will
cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate
their energies; do the thing—Carry a message to Garcia!

Is not the aim in both cases for the pupil to get the idea which the
authors wish to impress upon his mind? In other words, the authors
are not simply writing for art’s sake, as so many would have us
believe. The pupil must get the author’s messages, so that they will
help him in life, to be both independent or free from passion, and
reliable or dependable in whatever he undertakes.
Let us advance to the second step: The classification and
organization of facts mean more than the simple process of orderly
arrangement. This has to do with translating what the author
presents to the pupil in terms of his past experience. This is the
process of judging values. Before we pigeon-hole new information,
we pass judgment upon its relative importance. The pupil has
experienced the value of punctuality, courage, optimism, etc. Now,
when any new truth comes under his observation, it is not turned into
knowledge until it has gone through his mental gristmill. What he
hears, or sees, or feels, is not usable until it has been fitted into its
particular niche, and this fitting process is brought about by likening
the unknown to the known.
This brings us to the third step. Frederick Harrison has said:
“Man’s business here is to know for the sake of living, not to live for
the sake of knowing.” There is no better way of expressing the third
step in the development of the student in intelligent reading. After he
has learned to grasp the author’s thought readily, and then so reacts
upon it that it becomes a part of his very being, his next step is to
find an open market for the sale of his knowledge. This does not
mean to sell for money in the narrow sense, but to put his
understanding into actual daily life.
CHAPTER III
INVENTORY OF SPEECH EFFICIENCY

Before proceeding further, let us estimate our speech efficiency.


Every conscientious person can determine the strong and weak
points of his speech by asking himself a few questions. Some, more
sensitive than others, will very likely magnify their weaknesses and
minimize their commendable qualities. Be that as it may, the vast
majority will give a fair rating to both good and bad vocal habits.
This personal consultation with yourself may take a long or a short
time. Some are quick to see faults in themselves—and probably slow
to correct them; still others are slow to see their own errors and
probably never will correct them; but all careful and honest students
will discover at once where they are lacking in the proper
management of voice, and will proceed to overcome their difficulties.
In rating speech efficiency it is well to make use of the common
questionnaire plan. The questions fall under two separate heads,
namely, the Knowing and the Doing.

The Knowing
1. Do I realize that I use my voice almost constantly?
2. Do I realize that success in business or society depends largely
upon the convincing power of speech?
3. Do I realize how much of my speech is of no avail?
4. Do I realize the vital importance of inflection and the influence it
has upon those who hear me?
5. Do I realize the great delight that comes through the mastery of
correct vocal usage?
6. Do I realize that it is unnecessary to have a tired throat at the end
of the day?
7. Do I realize that in a very large degree a pleasing personality
depends upon a pleasing voice?
8. Do I realize that by attaining convincing power of speech I am
promoting my efficiency?

The Doing
1. Do I talk more than is necessary?
2. Do I pitch my voice too high?
3. Do I speak with a tense, set jaw and use a hard, metallic tone?
4. Do I talk in my throat instead of in my mouth?
5. Do I continually talk on the same key?
6. Do I talk too fast, or too slow, or too loud, or too low?
7. Do I use my voice as a medium by which I give vent to anger or
displeasure?
8. Do I speak quietly and softly, and thus indicate culture and
refinement?
9. Do I speak loudly in order to be persuasive?
10. Do I attract undue attention to my speech?
11. Do I enunciate with clearness and precision?
12. Do I harmonize tone with mood?

More items could be placed under these two headings, but the
above are sufficient to bring the student face to face with his speech
difficulties. We must know wherein we lack speech efficiency before
we can remedy the lack. The following chapters present adequate
exercises for needed improvement.
CHAPTER IV
ORAL READING

If the pupil is to enjoy logical and consistent development in


expression, he must be taught along psychological lines. Teachers
should never lose sight of the fact that what is good for one pupil is
not always good for another. It is impossible to set down a set of
rules which will govern alike all pupils. Only that teacher is worthy of
the name who recognizes that every pupil presents more or less a
separate problem.

Teacher’s First Great Task


The teacher’s first important task is to render the pupil rightly
disposed. Some pupils are at once extremely anxious to be
governed by the wisdom of their teachers, while others are skeptical
and must serve an apprenticeship in imitation. Still others are
perverse and must be coerced. It is the patient and long-suffering
teacher whose highest hopes will be realized.

What Is Expression?
What is expression? We are told that all life is expression: The
sudden summer shower, the leap of the wild cataract, the springing
forth of early flowers, and the slow motion of the glacier all represent
Nature expressing herself. The musician over the keyboard, the
painter at his easel, the writer at his desk, represent art expressing
herself. This is all true. But what about mankind as a whole, what
about the vast majority of people who are not endowed with genius?
Have they no universal and common mode of expression?

Greatest Educational Value


Here lies the great educational value of oral reading, of expressive
speech. Their appeal should be universal and not confined to a
talented few. It were better that those who have native ability were
wholly neglected and allowed to express themselves in their own
way, than that the vast majority have no training at all. It is the
ungifted who should be aided rather than those who have been
especially endowed by Nature.

The Desire to Express


The desire to express is common to all humanity from infancy to
old age. The true aim of education should be to “draw out” that which
is within us; in other words, to express ourselves—physically,
mentally and spiritually. The world’s great personalities are those
who have the greatest freedom of expression. They have mastered
the power to reveal their inmost selves. They have profited by the
truth that through exercise we grow. So we should continually aim to
free those channels through which we communicate ourselves to the
outside world, in order that our highest faculties be unshackled and
be given perfect freedom.

The Channels of Expression


Let us consider briefly what are the chief avenues or channels of
revealing what we are to others. Our first means is by movements of
a part or all of the body. This we call the Physical Channel. Later in
the development of man the location of sound in the throat was
made. Man noted that when he experienced a certain mood,
unconsciously he gave vent to a corresponding guttural noise or
sound. This is called the Sound or Tone Channel. Lastly, man
invented sound symbols—words. That is, certain vocal sounds
represented certain objects and ideas. This we call the Word
Channel.

Merging of the Channels


To sum up, we have three separate ways by which we can
express what we think and feel. It is very important that the pupil, as
well as the teacher, keep this fact in mind. If we are to be natural and
successful in giving out what we really are, these three means must
coördinate, must act harmoniously. That is, the body, or Physical
Channel, must parallel the Word Channel, and the Tone Channel
must parallel the Physical and Word Channel. Each must bear
witness to the truth uttered by the other. When the fullness of each,
freighted with human meaning, overflows, there is a merging of all
three. The result is natural and intense expression. Our supreme
purpose is to realize this triune of man’s expressive powers.
CHAPTER V
SELECTIONS FOR PART ONE

The preceding discussions should be kept in mind while studying


the following selections. The primary purpose is to seek after the
author’s thought. If we are able to relate clearly and fluently in our
own words the content of what we have read, then we can feel
assured that we have found out the meaning of the author.
First: Read the selection paragraph by paragraph. Then arrange in
your mind the several points in their respective order. Now give them
orally as simply and progressively as possible.
Second: Read the selection again by paragraphs and this time
determine what are the important and unimportant words. Then give
these important words a greater force of utterance.
Third: Do not fear to make many groups. We must first see the
author’s ideas and pictures in broken bits. When we have thought
clearly on each part of the whole, and have each part securely in
mind, we can then surely and effectively put these separate parts
into one complete picture.

THE DOUGLAS SQUIRREL


By John Muir
Go where you will throughout the noble woods of the Sierra
Nevada, among the giant pines and spruces of the lower zones, up
through the towering Silver Firs to the storm-bent thickets of the
summit peaks, you everywhere find this little squirrel the master-
existence. Though only a few inches long, so intense is his fiery
vigor and restlessness, he stirs every grove with wild life, and makes
himself more important than even the huge bears that shuffle
through the tangled underbrush beneath him. Every wind is fretted
by his voice, almost every bole and branch feel the sting of his sharp
feet. How much the growth of the trees is stimulated by his means it
is not easy to learn, but his action in manipulating their seeds is
more appreciable. Nature has made him master forester and
committed most of her coniferous crops to his paws. Probably over
fifty per cent of all the cones ripened on the Sierra are cut off and
handled by the Douglas alone, and of those of the Big Trees perhaps
ninety per cent pass through his hands: the greater portion is of
course stored away for food to last during the winter and spring, but
some of them are tucked separately into loosely covered holes,
where some of the seeds germinate and become trees....
One never tires of this bright chip of nature,—this brave little voice
crying in the wilderness,—of observing his many works and ways,
and listening to his curious language. His musical, piny gossip is as
savory to the ear as balsam to the palate; and, though he has not
exactly the gift of song, some of his notes are as sweet as those of a
linnet—almost flute-like in softness, while others prick and tingle like
thistles. He is the mocking-bird of squirrels, pouring forth mixed
chatter and song like a perennial fountain; barking like a dog,
screaming like a hawk, chirping like a blackbird or a sparrow; while in
bluff, audacious noisiness he is a very jay.
In descending the trunk of a tree with the intention of alighting on
the ground, he preserves a cautious silence, mindful, perhaps, of
foxes and wildcats; but while rocking safely at home in the pine-tops
there is no end to his capers and noise; and woe to the gray squirrel
or chipmunk that ventures to set foot on his favorite tree! No matter
how slyly they trace the furrows of the bark, they are speedily
discovered, and kicked downstairs with comic vehemence, while a
torrent of angry notes comes rushing from his whiskered lips that
sounds remarkably like swearing. He will even attempt at times to
drive away dogs and men, especially if he has had no previous
knowledge of them. Seeing a man for the first time, he approaches
nearer and nearer, until within a few feet; then, with angry outburst,
he makes a sudden rush, all teeth and eyes, as if about to eat you
up. But, finding that the big forked animal doesn’t scare, he prudently
beats a retreat, and sets himself up to reconnoiter on some
overhanging branch, scrutinizing every movement you make with
ludicrous solemnity.
Mr. Muir thus tells of an amusing experience he had with a
Douglas squirrel that he found at his breakfast:
Breakfast done, I whistled a tune for him before he went to work,
curious to see how he would be affected by it. He had not seen me
all this while; but the instant I began to whistle he darted up the tree
nearest to him, and came out on a small dead limb opposite me, and
composed himself to listen. I sang and whistled more than a dozen
airs, and as the music changed his eyes sparkled, and he turned his
head quickly from side to side, but made no other response. Other
squirrels, hearing the strange sounds, came around on all sides, also
chipmunks and birds. One of the birds, a handsome, speckle-
breasted thrush, seemed even more interested than the squirrels.
After listening for awhile on one of the lower dead sprays of a pine,
he came swooping forward within a few feet of my face, and
remained fluttering in the air for half a minute or so, sustaining
himself with whirring wing-beats, like a humming-bird in front of a
flower, while I could look into his eyes and see his innocent wonder.
By this time my performance must have lasted nearly half an hour.
I sang or whistled “Bonnie Doon,” “Lass o’ Gowrie,” “O’er the Water
to Charlie,” “Bonnie Woods o’ Cragie Lee,” etc., all of which seemed
to be listened to with bright interest, my first Douglas sitting patiently
through it all, with his telling eyes fixed upon me until I ventured to
give the “Old Hundredth,” when he screamed his Indian name,
Pillillooeet, turned tail, and darted with ludicrous haste up the tree
out of sight, his voice and actions in the case leaving a somewhat
profane impression, as if he had said, “I’ll be hanged if you get me to
hear anything so solemn and unpiney.” This acted as a signal for the
general dispersal of the whole hairy tribe, though the birds seemed
willing to wait further developments, music being naturally more in
their line.
What there can be in that grand old church tune that is so
offensive to birds and squirrels I can’t imagine. A year or two after
this High Sierra concert, I was sitting one fine day on a hill in the
Coast Range, where the common Ground Squirrels were abundant.
They were very shy on account of being hunted so much; but after I
had been silent and motionless for half an hour or so they began to
venture out of their holes and to feed on the seeds of the grasses
and thistles around me as if I were no more to be feared than a tree-
stump. Then it occurred to me that this was a good opportunity to
find out whether they also disliked “Old Hundredth.” Therefore I
began to whistle as nearly as I could remember the same familiar
airs that had pleased the mountaineers of the Sierra. They at once
stopped eating, stood erect and listened patiently until I came to “Old
Hundredth,” when with ludicrous haste every one of them rushed in
their holes and bolted in, their feet twinkling in the air for a moment
as they vanished.—From “The Mountains of California,” copyrighted
by The Century Company, New York, and used by their kind
permission.

Nothing small! no lily-muffled hum of a summer-bee, but finds


some coupling with the shining stars; no pebble at your feet but
proves a sphere; no chaffinch, but implies the cherubim. Earth’s
crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God.
—Mrs. Browning.

Every clod feels a stir of might,


An instinct within it that reaches and towers,
And, groping blindly above it for light,
Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers.

—Lowell.

Once or twice in a lifetime we are permitted to enjoy the charm of


noble manners, in the presence of a man or woman who have no bar
in their nature, but whose character emanates freely in their word
and gesture. A beautiful form is better than a beautiful face; a
beautiful behavior is better than a beautiful form: it gives a higher
pleasure than statues or pictures,—it is the finest of the fine arts. A
man is but a little thing in the midst of the objects of nature, yet, by
the moral quality radiating from his countenance, he may abolish all
considerations of magnitude, and in his manners equal the majesty
of the world. I have seen an individual, whose manners, though
wholly within the conventions of elegant society, were never learned
there, but were original and commanding, and held out protection
and prosperity; one who did not need the aid of a court-suit, but
carried the holiday in his eye; who exhilarated the fancy by flinging
wide the doors of new modes of existence; who shook off the
captivity of etiquette, with happy spirited bearing, good-natured and
free as Robin Hood; yet with the port of an emperor, if need be,
calm, serious, and fit to stand the gaze of millions.
—Emerson.

Look at ourselves. Look at man; his reason, intelligence, and


discoveries. Look at him diving into the depths of the ocean,
calculating the eclipses of the sun and moon, and making the
elements subservient to his interest and his wants. Look at his
capacities; review the ten thousand arguments that daily, nay, hourly,
arise, and then tell me if there is the shadow of a doubt that a God, a
retributive God, does rule the whirlwind and direct the storm.
—R. Ricker.

Education is a companion which no misfortune can depress—no


crime can destroy—no enemy can alienate—no despotism enslave.
At home, a friend—abroad, an introduction—in solitude, a solace—
and in society, an ornament. It chastens vice—it guides virtue—it
gives at once grace and government to genius—without it, what is
Man? A splendid slave—a reasoning savage!

Just before Napoleon set out for the court of Belgium, he sent to
the cleverest artisan of his class in Paris, and demanded of him
whether he would engage to make a coat of mail, to be worn under
the ordinary dress, which should be absolutely bullet-proof; and that
if so, he might name his own price for such a work. The man
engaged to make the desired object, if allowed proper time, and he
named eighteen thousand francs as the price of it. The bargain was
concluded, and in due time the work was produced, and its maker
honored with a second audience of the emperor. “Now,” said his
imperial majesty, “put it on.” The man did so. “As I am to stake my
life on its efficacy, you will, I suppose, have no objections to do the
same.” And he took a brace of pistols, and prepared to discharge
one of them at the breast of the astonished artisan. There was no
retreating, however, and half-dead with fear, he stood the fire, and, to
the infinite credit of his work, with perfect impunity. But the emperor
was not content with one trial; he fired the second pistol at the back
of the trembling artisan, and afterwards discharged a fowling-piece
at another part of him, with similar effect. “Well,” said the emperor,
“you have produced a capital work, undoubtedly—what is the price
of it?” “Eighteen thousand francs were named as the agreed sum.”
“There is an order for them,” said the emperor, “and here is another,
for an equal sum, for the fright that I gave you.”

WORK AND THE WORKER


By Theodore Roosevelt
There are any number of different kinds of work we have to do, all
of which have to be done. There is the work of the farmer, the work
of the business man, the work of the skilled mechanic, the work of
the men to whom I owe my safety every day and every night—the
work of the railroad men; the work of the lawyer, the work of the
sailor, the work of the soldier, the work in ten thousand ways; it is all
good work; it does not make any difference what work the man is
doing if he does it well. If the man is a slacker, a shiftless creature, I
wish we could get rid of him. He is of no use. In every occupation
you will find some men whom you will have to carry. You cannot do
much with them. Every one of us will stumble at times, and shame to
the man who does not at such times stretch out a helping hand, but if
the man lies down you cannot carry him to any permanent use. What
I would plead for is that we recognize the fact that all must work, that
we bring up our children to work, so that each respects the other. I
do not care whether a man is a banker or a bricklayer; if he is a good
banker or a good bricklayer he is a good citizen; if he is dishonest, if
he is tricky, if he shirks his job or tries to cheat his neighbor, be he
great or small, be he the poor man cheating the rich man, or the rich
man oppressing the poor man, in either case he is a bad citizen.—
Remarks at Berenda, California, May 18, 1903.

THE MUSIC OF AMERICA


By Roscoe Gilmore Stott
This is the Music of America:
Above the fret of a hundred routine duties and a thousand cares
rises the clarion Soprano. It comes from the joyful throats of millions
of women, blest beyond their sorrowing sisters who dwell on foreign
shores. It is the voice of the clear-eyed schoolgirl, romping her happy
way from a world of books into a gentler world of love; of the self-
reliant sister who is facing the forces of business with spirit
courageous and step that has never learned to falter; of the mother
of a tender brood and, blended into the melody her own heart
makes, the sweet, lisped crooning from the child at her bosom.
The Tenor notes are strong and full of golden promises. They
come from souls that have climbed above the city’s boldest heights.
They come from the souls of self-forgetful men—a proud nation’s
watchers upon her towers whose eager eyes scan the far stretches
that they may guard with loyalty against the perfidy of home or
foreign foes. The Tenor is the united voices of the poets and
philosophers, of the reformers and statesmen—yes, and of all that
growing host who have scaled to the peak of some new Sinai, that
the people may not forget the Almighty’s will concerning them.
Listen, and you will mark the rich, rounded tones of the Contralto
—from the great-hearted organizations of Charity. Mingled into one
vast, sweeping tone—quivering with sympathy, vibrant with a heart’s
best faith—is the voice of the nurse, bending above some frail or
stricken sufferer; the voice of the matron at the threshold of some
gracious Door of Hope; the voice of the orphanage, the voice of the
infirmary, the voice of the rescue mission, the voice of the Salvation
Army, the voice of the Red Cross, the voice of the Christian
Association, the voice of the Church.
And underneath the united harmony of Soprano and Contralto,
under the inspiring silver thread of Tenor, there comes the wonderful
support of all, the basis of a nation’s Song of Hope—the splendid
and terrible contribution of strong-armed, mighty-limbed Labor—the
Bass. In the low, deep resonance of the singer’s rare volume one
may catch a vision of men, stern of visage and powerful in action,
dominated by the happy unity of Will and Service, pouring down into
depths of Mother Earth, that other men may have homes that radiate
a social warmth; a vision of men at forge and flame, at plow and
pruning-hook, at threshing-machine and throttle. The mighty voice
thrills with the shriek of a million factory whistles, of sea and river
craft, of rushing locomotives competing against Time and Space....
Underneath all, the splendid and terrible tones of a giant singer.
So, let us be glad and rejoice! The All-King, as He sits on the
White Throne, marshaling His worlds, pauses. He bends a listening
ear, and surely His heart is made glad with an overpowering
happiness as His ears catch the strains of a grateful people’s
reverence—as He listens to the Music of America!—From The
Ladies Home Journal.

THE VIRTUES OF LOVE


By Saint Paul the Apostle
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have
not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I
could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me
nothing.
Charity suffereth long and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall
fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be
knowledge, it shall vanish away.
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which
is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I
thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish
things.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now
I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest
of these is charity.—I Corinthians, XIII.

THE MAJESTY OF THE OCEAN


By “Proteus”
My first view of it was on a clear, but gusty afternoon of autumn.
The winds had been abroad for many hours; and as I looked
seaward from the high promontory, and beheld the long, rough
surges rushing towards me, and listened to their wild roar as they
were flung back from the caverned battlements at my feet, I felt as if
the pillars of the universe were shaken around me, and stood awed
and abashed before the majesty of excited nature. Since then, I have
been on lofty precipices while the thunder-cloud was bursting below
me—have leaned over the trembling brink of Niagara, and walked
within its awful chambers, but the thrill of that moment has never
returned. The feeling of awe, however, gradually gave place to an
intense but pleasing emotion, and I longed to spring away from the
tame and trodden earth, to that wild, mysterious world, whose
strange scenes broke so magnificently upon my vision. No wonder
that our first roving impulses are towards the ocean. No wonder that
the romance and adventurous spirit of youth deems lightly of
hardship and peril, when aroused by its stirring presentations. There
is something so winning in the multiplied superstitions of its hardy
wanderers—something so fascinating in its calm beauty, and so
animating in its stormy recklessness, that the ties of country and
kindred sit looser at our hearts, as curiosity whispers of its unseen
wonders. In after years, when the bloom of existence has lost much
of its brightness, when curiosity has become enervated, and the
powers of the imagination palsied, where do we sooner return to
renew their former pleasing excitement, than to our remembered
haunts by the ocean? We leave behind us all the splendor and
magnificence of art, all the voluptuous gratifications of society—we
break from the banquet and the dance, and fly away to the solitary
cliffs, where the sea-bird hides her nest. There the cares,
perplexities, and rude jostlings of opposing interests are for a while
forgotten. There the turmoil of human intercourse disquiets no
longer. There the sweat and dust of the crowded city are dispelled as
the cool sea-breeze comes gently athwart our feverish brow. In the
exhilaration of the scene, the blood gathers purer at the heart—its
pulse-beat is softer, and we feel once more a newness of life,
amounting almost to a transport. Delightful remembrances, that lie
buried up under the dross of the past, are reanimated, and the
charm, the peace, and the freshness of life’s morning innocence
again finds in our bosom a welcome and a home. The elastic spring
of boyhood is in our step as we chase the receding wave along the
white beach, or leap wildly into its glassy depths. In the low, billowy
murmur that steals out upon the air, our ear catches the pleasant,
but long unheard music of other years, like the remembered voice of
a departed companion; and while leaning over some beetling crag,
glorious visions pass, thronging before our eyes, as, in fancy, we
rove through the coral groves, where the mermaids have their
emerald bower, or gaze at the hidden beauties, the uncoveted gems,
and the glittering argosies that repose amid the stilly waters. The
soul goes forth, as it were, to the hallowed and undefiled temples of
nature, to be purified of its earthly contamination. She takes to
herself wings, and flies away to the “uttermost parts of the sea,” and
even there she hears the voice of the Divine, witnesses the
manifestations of His power, experiences the kind guardianship of
His presence, and returns cheered and invigorated to renew her
weary pilgrimage.

THE GRAY DAYS


By Robert J. Burdette
You don’t love the gray days now. You want the sunshiny days, the
roses and the carnations. Let me tell you, children, you will love the
gray days just as well when they come. Some day, when the heart is
wearied, when the eyes are hot and tired and dry with weeping,
when the face is burned by the noonday sun, you will know how like
a kiss of blessedness from heaven comes the soft, cool touch of the
mist, creeping up out of the sea or coming down over the mountain,
until it folds you as the wings of a dove, and shuts you in with peace
and rest and hope, and the tenderness of God. Oh, you will thank
God again and again for the gray days.

THE PRESENT CRISIS


By James Russell Lowell

When a deed is done for Freedom, through the broad earth’s aching
breast
Runs a thrill of joy prophetic, trembling on from east to west,
And the slave, where’er he cowers, feels the soul within him climb
To the awful verge of manhood, as the energy sublime
Of a century bursts full-blossomed on the thorny stem of Time.

Through the walls of hut and palace shoots the instantaneous throe,
When the travail of the Ages wrings earth’s systems to and fro;
At the birth of each new Era, with a recognizing start,
Nation wildly looks at nation, standing with mute lips apart,
And glad Truth’s yet mightier man-child leaps beneath the Future’s
heart.
So the Evil’s triumph sendeth, with a terror and a chill,
Under continent to continent, the sense of coming ill,
And the slave, where’er he cowers, feels his sympathies with God
In hot tear-drops ebbing earthward, to be drunk up by the sod,
Till a corpse crawls round unburied, delving in the nobler clod.

For mankind are one in spirit, and an instinct bears along


Round the earth’s electric circle, the swift flash of right or wrong
Whether conscious or unconscious, yet Humanity’s vast frame
Through its ocean-sundered fibers feels the gush of joy or shame:—
In the gain or loss of one race all the rest have equal claim.

Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,


In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God’s new Messiah offering each the bloom or
blight
Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right,
And the choice goes by forever ’twixt that darkness and that light.

Hast thou chosen, O my people, in whose party thou shalt stand,


Ere the Doom from its worn sandals shakes the dust against our
land?
Though the cause of Evil prosper, yet ’tis Truth alone is strong,
And, albeit she wander outcast now, I see around her throng
Troops of beautiful, tall angels, to enshield her from all wrong.

Backward look across the ages and the beacon-moments see,


That, like peaks of some sunk continent, jut through Oblivion’s sea;
Not an ear in court or market for the low foreboding cry
Of those crises, God’s stern winnowers, from whose feet earth’s
chaff must fly,
Never shows the choice momentous till the judgment hath passed
by.

Careless seems the great Avenger; history’s pages but record


One death-grapple in the darkness ’twixt old systems and the Word;
Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne,—
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown,

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