and willing to
drive Hell before it, that Corps must be possessed, and that fully,
by this spirit of life. Nothing else can effectively take its
place. No education, learning, Bible knowledge, theology, social
amusements, or anything of the kind will be a satisfactory
substitute. The Corps that seeks to put any of these things in the
place of life will find them a mockery, a delusion, and a snare;
will find them to be only the wraps and trappings of death itself.

"And if it is so in the Corps, it is so ten thousand times more in
the Officer who commands that Corps--in you!

"Spiritual Life is the essential root of every other qualification
required by a Salvation Army Officer.

"With it he will be of unspeakable interest.

"He will be a pleasure to himself. There is an unspeakable joy in
having healthy, exuberant life.

"He will be of interest to those about him. Who cares about dead
things? Dead flowers--throw them out. Dead animals--eat them. Dead
men--bury them. Dead and dying Officers--take them away. Give them
another Corps.

"If he is living he will be of interest to all about him. Men with
humble abilities, if full of this Spiritual Life, will be a charm
and a blessing wherever they go. Look at the lives and writings of
such humble men as Billy Bray, Carvosso, and Hodgson Casson. Their
memory is an ointment poured forth to-day after long years have
passed away.

"Without this life an Officer will be of no manner of use. No
matter how he may be educated or talented, without life is to be
without love; and to be without love, the Apostle tells us, is to
be only as 'a sounding brass.' But it is not that of which I want
to speak just now.

"Spiritual Life is essential to the preservation of life.

"The first thing life does for its possessor is to lead him to look
after its own protection. When the principle of life is strong, you
will have health and longevity. When it is weak, you have disease.
When it is extinct, you have decay and rottenness.

"Only vigorous Spiritual Life will enable a Salvation Army Officer
to effectually discharge the duties connected with his position.

"Life is favorable to activity. It is so with all life. Go into the
tropical forests, and see the exuberant growth of everything there.