the minds of those pressing around Him, would cause their lives to flourish with righteousness, beauty, love, usefulness, and joy. They came, some out of curiosity, some out of hatred, all thinking themselves entitled to hold and express an opinion concerning the importance or worthlessness of what He said. They needed to be reminded that, in order to benefit by what He had to say, they must bring certain capacities. The object of the parable is to explain the causes of the failure and success of