ON THE POINT OF A NEEDLE
Reading edition
The late Dr. Talmage was once in the company of some theological students. They were fresh from the study of church history, and were laughing over the old question so much discussed by the schoolmen in the Middle Ages, “How many angels can stand on, or be supported by, the point of a needle?”
They put the question to Dr. Talmage, “How many angels can be supported by the point of a needle?” and Dr. Talmage promptly answered, “Five.” When they wanted to know how he knew, he told them the following story:
“One very stormy night I was coming home late, and noticed a light in the window of a room where I knew a poor woman lived whose husband was lost at sea. I wondered what kept her up so late and I thought I would go and see. I found her hard at work sewing at her lamp, while her five rosy children were sound asleep beside her. And that is how I happen to know that five angels can be supported by the point of a needle.”