142 THE CHRISTIAN NATURALIST. 



Church, as at all times existing ia the world. The 

 crop before us, though strong and heavy, is not free 

 from weeds. And thus the Church of Christ in the 

 present day, though promising and prosperous, is not 

 devoid of false professors. The tares* of Judea are 

 unknown in this land ; just as many of the heresies of 

 ancient times are no longer apparent. But there are 

 other tares which still mingle whith the corn, and 

 cannot be separated from it without injury to the crop. 

 There is the shewy weed, aptly resembling the gay 

 — the carnal professor, but known and distinguished 

 by every eye from the true follower of Christ. There 

 are also weeds less showy, but still more obnoxious ; 



* The word Zizaiiia, rendered Tares, (Matt. xiii. 25,) is a Sy - 

 riac word and describes some kind of grain which was either a 

 spurious kind of corn, or some plant that was noxious to the 

 growth and purity of the crop. It is quite, however, a matter of 

 micertainty what plant is meant. Some have contended that it 

 is the bearded Darnel, or Lolium temulentum, so called from 

 its supposed intoxicating qualities. We are equally at liberty to 

 5?uppose all the English translations of the bible to be right, 

 which suppose a species of vetch to be here alluded to ; for by the 

 word Tare our language has always designated, not Darnel, but 

 various species of vetches that abound in corn fields. The 

 '* binding in bundles" seems to sanction this meaning ; nor 

 does the danger referred to Matth. xiii. 29, interfere with this 

 idea. The danger might arise not from the similarity of the 

 two plants the wheat and the tare, but from the process itself. 



