284 THE COMING OF MAN 



The Hebrew shepherd would look up into the clear 

 vault of the heavens and watch the stars come out 

 one by one, until the night was wondrous with their 

 clear and sparkling light. But his inner eyes would 

 see beyond the stars, and his spirit would feel the 

 nearness of the unseen Friend, the Maker of it all. 



So by thought, which written language has pre- 

 served, mankind has grown. All the great ones who 

 ever lived have become great because their thoughts 

 were busy upon things of importance, and their eyes 

 looked searchingly into the truth of God's creations. 

 They became inventors and discoverers, poets and 

 prophets. 



Now as the discovery of iron and the invention of 

 writing sent those early nations that learned to use 

 them so far ahead of the others, and as the invention 

 of printing has helped still more, the use of steam has 

 also given the civilized world another great push for- 

 ward, by making it possible to do much more than 

 could be done in any other way. Through the use of 

 steam articles of daily need, such as our clothes, ciu" 

 furniture and our dishes, and books containing the 

 thoughts of great men, can be manufactured by 

 machinery in great quantities, and so cheaply as to 

 come within the reach of all. Because of steam, too, 

 commerce and travel are made so much easier that 

 people of different nations not only send to each 

 other great quantities of goods, but travel about, 

 visit each other, see the different countries, and so 

 become more highly developed. 



Just as the people about the Mediterranean Sea 

 became most civilized through their commerce and 



