vr. THE STATUE AND THE STONE. 117 



middle part of the statue was the metal of which the 

 armour of the ancients the breastplate and the gyves 

 was made ; and the iron of the legs and feet was the 

 metal which, stronger and more useful than all the 

 others, was the symbol of man's proud position on the 

 earth, and his power to subdue all its elements to his 

 use. These materials are the highest forms which the 

 mineral kingdom assumes the sublimation of the sub- 

 stance of the earth, and therefore they fitly represent all 

 the pomp and circumstance of the proud kingdoms of 

 the world all that is strongest, most precious, and 

 enduring in human sovereignty. 



On the other hand, the stone which smote the 

 magnificent statue had no value or splendour. It was 

 a rude aggregation and consolidation of the common 

 sand or mud or dust of the earth. It was made up 

 of the materials which are trodden under foot or em- 

 ployed only in the humblest uses. Who values a 

 rough stone by the wayside? It is left unheeded 

 where it lies, or kicked aside as an obstacle. And 

 in this respect it is a fit symbol of the Founder of the 

 heavenly kingdom, who, while on earth, had no form 

 or comeliness, and was despised and rejected of men. 

 Christ in His life and death presents no attraction to the 

 natural eye. The stone is disallowed of men, a stone 

 of stumbling and a rock of offence even to those which 

 stumble at the word. His Church was the filth and 

 offscouring of all things to the world. The subjects of 

 His kingdom were the weak, the foolish, the ignorant, 

 and the poor those who, like their Master, had a 



