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Spiritual
Sustenance.

MR. ALCOTT. What did Jesus' answer

mean, "Man shall

alone"?

not live by bread

LUCIA. It means that the spirit is to be fed on the word of God, as the body is with bread.

MR. ALCOTT. How do you feed the spirit on the word of God?

LUCIA. When we give any thing to the poor, or resist any temptation.

RECORDER.

Suppose there is a chance for your spirit to feed on some of these commands of God; and your body is hungry for food, which must you choose? LUCIA. To feed the spirit if you can do but one.

RECORDER. Suppose you were starving for instance, and could get money to buy. bread, by murdering another, which should you do?

LUCIA. Starve.

RECORDER. What life would you feed in that case? LUCIA. My spirit's life - and that was what Jesus

did here.

Self-Sacrifice.

RECORDER. Did he ever have any other

occasion of making this same choice?

CHARLES. Yes; when he was crucified.

MR. ALCOTT. How many of you think you have lived on bread alone, rather than on the words of God, that give life?

(All held up hands.)

CHARLES.

Passions.

Every word of God” means conscience.

MR. ALCOTT. Do you understand the second temptation?

JOSIAH. I do not see how Jesus could get up to the pinnacle of the temple. Evil thoughts could not put him there.

MR. ALCOTT. Did the devil take the body of Jesus up there?

LUCIA. Jesus must have thought of being up there.

ALEXANDER. I think the evil thought, that put him

up there, was pride.

MR. ALCOTT. We must have another conversation on this subject. You have been somewhat inattentive to-day; and we have not finished our conversation. Temptation is a subject hard to be understood in all its bearings. It takes a life to apprehend it. Evil is ever tempting all our faculties; and few master it, holding the appetites and passions in subordination to conscience, the ruler of the spirit.

CONVERSATION XX.

SPIRITUAL SUPREMACY.

SELF-CONTROL.

Temptation of Jesus, from the Sacred Text.— Idea of Temptation. - Vain Glory. Passions. Self-Subordination. - Emblem of Appetite and PasWorldly Ambition. Spiritual Integrity.

sion. Spiritual Support.

Aspiration for the Perfect.

MR. ALCOTT. Can you think to-day?

(All held up hands.)

What was the conversation upon last?
CHARLES. The temptations of Jesus.

MR. ALCOTT. We shall resume the subject to-day.
Mr. Alcott re-read

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS..

MATT. iv. 1-11. MARK iv. 12, 13. LUKE iv. 1-13.

Before the Vulgar Æra, 26. Julian Period, 4739.

Wilderness.

Luke iv. 1.

Mark i. 12

Matt. iv. 1.
Mark i. 13.

Luke iv. 2.

Temptation.

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan: and was led by the spirit into the wilderness.

† And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness,

to be tempted of the devil.

And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan,

Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing.

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Matt. iv. 2.

Matt. iv. 3.

Luke iv. 3.
Luke iv. 4.

Matt. iv. 4.
Matt. iv. 5.

Before the Vulgar Æra, 26.

Matt. iv. 6.

Luke iv. 9.

Luke iv. 10.

Luke iv. 11.

Luke iv. 12.
Matt. iv. 7.

Matt. iv. 8.

Luke iv. 5.
Luke iv. 6.

Matt. iv. 9.
Luke iv. 6.

Luke iv. 7.
Matt. iv. 9.
Luke iv. 7.
Luke iv. 8.

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Julian Period, 4739.
Jerusalem.

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered:

And when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread,

command this stone that it be made bread.

And Jesus answered him, saying, *It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down

from hence:

For it is written,

He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
And in their hands they shall bear thee up,

Lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
And Jesus answering said unto him,

It is written again, ‡ Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God.

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

in a moment of time.

And the devil said unto him,

And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee,

All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for
that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I
give it.

If thou therefore wilt worship me,
if thou wilt fall down and worship me,

all shall be thine.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Then the devil leaveth him,

And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

And [he] was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

Mark. iv. 11.

Luke iv. 13.

Mark i. 13.

Matt. iv. 11.

* Deut. viii. 3.

and behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

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Idea of
Temptation.

MR. ALCOTT. What is the meaning of the word tempt?

CHARLES. When things not your own are

put in your way they tempt you.

FREDERIC. If you want to do something wrong and can scarce help it, you are tempted.

He

AUGUSTINE. It is not necessary to have a bad want. Jesus was tempted and he never had a bad want. wanted something to eat, and that was not wrong.

GEORGE K. If somebody encourages you in a bad want, you are tempted.

JOSEPH. If any body urges you to do wrong, he tempts you.

EMMA. To want to do wrong is a temptation.

ELLEN. When any one tries to persuade you that what you know to be wrong is right, you are tempted. NATHAN. I think if any body tells you to do any thing, which you think wrong, and you do it, you are tempted.

GEORGE K. Your appetites tempt you to do wrong. CHARLES. A drunkard is tempted in that way.

SAMUEL R. And a drunkard tempts others.

FRANKLIN. After you have eaten enough, and something good comes on the table, you are tempted to eat too much.

MARTHA. Two boys may go into a confectionary, and one will persuade the other to buy something, because he hopes he will give him some.

FRANCIS. I once went into a grocer's shop with a boy, and he took some raisins out of a little barrel, went out, and the man did not see him.

MR. ALCOTT. Did you tell the man?

FRANK A. No; I was ashamed for him.

GEORGE K. I have seen a boy tempted to do wrong by being laughed at for doing right.

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