Terrified passengers lined the railing of a Mississippi River steamer, as it sped through a dense fog. A committee, sent to remonstrate with the captain, for going too fast, discovered that it was clear on the bridge. The fog was dense for about twenty feet above the water so that the passengers, on their level, could see nothing, but the captain could see everything.
One of the oldest Spanish proverbs is: "Alla van leyes do quieren reyes," or "Laws go the ways that kings desire." It arose when Alfonso VI, at the beginning of the twelfth century, had to decide whether his country should use Gothic or Roman missals. The king resolved to leave the matter to chance; he threw both into the flames, saying that the one that came out unburnt should be chosen. But when the Gothic missal survived the ordeal, he threw it back into the flames and decided in favor of the Roman. From this act the proverb became popular throughout Spain.
Revelation of the production methods of the atomic bomb is bringing to light some remarkable stories. Time and again companies were asked to design a machine according to a "mathematical formula which they did not fully understand." Out of this amazing gadgetry have come scores of new products and processes that have nothing to do with atomic power, such as new ways to dehydrate foodstuffs. Factories that followed the uncomprehended will of the atom staff learned that they had been working smoothly in an overall plan that was for the honor of their nation.
A large home had fine plate-glass windows that looked out on a beautiful garden. A bird outside tried to catch a butterfly that was inside; the bird flew against the window while the butterfly flew up and down trying to get away. The butterfly could not see the glass and expected at every moment to be caught; the bird did not see the glass and expected at every moment to catch its prey; yet the butterfly was as safe as though a wall of stone were between them.
A missionary in Central America once preached on the subject of universal brotherhood. At the close of his address, two professors from a local school said that they thought they had found a flaw in his reasoning. Were not all individuals of the human race descended from Adam and Eve? And did not God create Adam and Eve? And therefore, were not all individuals thereby the children of God? The missionary pointed to the benches in the room and asked, "Who made these benches?"