granted, and an adulterated Judaism was
grafted on their native religion. They accepted the five Books of Moses,
and looked for a Messiah--as indeed they still do. The origin of their
hatred of the Jews is told in Ezra. When the Jews returned from exile
and began to rebuild the temple, the Samaritans begged to be allowed to
share in the work. "Let us build with you," they said, "for we seek your
God as ye do; and we sacrifice unto Him since the days of Esarbaddon."
But their request was bluntly refused; they were treated as heathens,
who had no part in the religion of Israel. Hence the implacable
religious enmity which for centuries manifested itself in all sorts of
petty annoyances, and, when occasion offered, more serious injuries.

This Samaritan woman, then, was taken quite aback when the quiet figure
on the well, which by dress and accent she had recognised as that of a
Jew, uttered the simple request, "Give me to drink." As any Samaritan
would have done, she twitted the Jew with showing a frankness and
friendliness which she supposed were wholly due to His own keen thirst
and helplessness to quench it. But, to her still greater surprise, He
does not wince before her thrust, nor awkwardly apologise, or seek to
explain, but gravely and earnestly, and with dignity, utters the
perplexing but thought-provoking words: "If thou knewest the gift of
God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest
have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water." He
perceived the interest of the situation, saw with compassion her entire
ignorance of the presence in which she stood, and of the possibilities
within her reach. So do the most important issues often hinge on slight,
trivial, every-day incidents. The turning-points in our career have
often nothing to show that they are turning-points. We unconsciously
determine our future, and bind ourselves with chains we can never break,
by the way in which we deal with apparent trifles. We do not know the
forces that lie hidden all around us; and for want of knowledge we miss
a thousand opportunities. The sick man drags out a miserable existence,
incapacitated and useless, while within his reach, but unrecognised, is
a remedy which would give him health. It is often by a very little that
the scientific or philosophical student fails to make the discovery he
seeks; one more fact known, one idea fitted into its proper place, and
the thing is done. The gold-dig