Page 23 - 04 The Waldenses

a revelation of Himself. Every new truth

discerned is a fresh disclosure of the

character of its Author. The study of the

Scriptures is the means divinely ordained to

bring men into closer connection with their

Creator and to give them a clearer knowledge

of His will. It is the medium of

communication between God and man.

While the Waldenses regarded the fear of the

Lord as the beginning of wisdom, they were

not blind to the importance of a contact with

the world, a knowledge of men and of active

life, in expanding the mind and quickening

the perceptions. From their schools in the

mountains some of the youth were sent to

institutions of learning in the cities of France

or Italy, where was a more extended field for

study, thought, and observation than in their

native Alps. The youth thus sent forth were