Apart from the wit or the measure of truth in this sentence quoted, it is a matter of truth in the generalizations of fact that the figure of the “sword of the spirit, which is the word of God,” used by Paul, and also the figure of the “word of God, living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of the soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart,” of the writer to the Hebrews, had for their original in iron the victorious gladium of the Roman legionary—­a weapon both short and sharp.  We may learn from this substance of fact behind the shadow of the figure a lesson for our instant application.  The disciplined Romans scorned the long blades of the barbarians, whose valor so often impetuous was also impotent against discipline.  The Romans measured their blades by inches, not by feet.  For ages the Japanese sword has been famed for its temper more than its weight.[7] The Christian entering upon his Master’s campaigns with as little impediments of sectarian dogma as possible, should select a weapon that is short, sure and divinely tempered.

To know exactly the defects of the religion we seek to abolish, modify, supplement, supplant or fulfil, means wise economy of force.  To get at the secrets of its hold upon the people we hope to convert leads to a right use of power.  In a word, knowledge of the opposing religion, and especially of alien language, literature and ways of feeling and thinking, lengthens missionary life.  A man who does not know the moulds of thought of his hearers is like a swordsman trying to fight at long range but only beating the air.  Armed with knowledge and sympathy, the missionary smites with effect at close quarters.  He knows the vital spots.

Let me fortify my own convictions and conclude this preliminary part of my lectures by quoting again, not from academic authorities, but from active missionaries who are or have been at the front and in the field.[8]

The Rev. Samuel Beal, author of “Buddhism in China,” said (p. 19) that “it was plain to him that no real work could be done among the people [of China and Japan] by missionaries until the system of their belief was understood.”

The Rev. James MacDonald, a veteran missionary in Africa, in the concluding chapter of his very able work on “Religion and Myth,” says: 

    The Church that first adopts for her intending missionaries the
    study of Comparative Religion as a substitute for subjects now
    taught will lead the van in the path of true progress.

The People of Japan.