IS* THE OSTRICH, 



the ostrich pride and folly go together, and we are 

 sorry to say, that in human beings we too often ob- 

 serve the same thing ; for whenever we see a person 

 very proud of his looks, we may be sure that he i* 

 very foolish also. 



Wisdom and goodness will always direct the person 

 who has them, in a straight forward course, so that he 

 commonly escapes any snare that is laid for him: 

 but when we see a person, instead of coming directly 

 to the truth, taking a crooked course, and going round 

 it, as the Ostrich runs around the hunter, we may be 

 certain that he will be caught at last, and will prove 

 himself to be either proud, foolish, or wicked. 



The Ostrich is still more foolish, if possible, in think- 

 ing that because she shuts her own eyes, or hides her 

 head in the sand, that therefore, others cannot see 

 her. But still we find that foolish and wicked people 

 act with as little understanding as the silly Ostrich. 

 They say to themselves, while committing crime under 

 the darkness of the night, " no one sees me, and I shall 

 escape punishm'ent for this wickedness." Or in the 

 language of Scripture, " The Lord shall not see, nei- 

 ther shall the God of Jacob regard it." But such 

 persons should remember that " There is no shadow 

 of darkness, where the workers of iniquity may hide 

 themselves," and that the darkness and the light are 

 both alike to God. 



