finite love for us His creatures, and guided by infinite wisdom, must tend eventually and surely to the welfare and happiness of the whole human race; and this, as we have shown, without interfering with the individual free will, and consequent free action of each human being. 19. Now, as each individual is endowed with free will, and with self-love (as we have shown in Chapter IV.), 20. It follows that he does not necessarily act according to the will of his Maker. 21. And if he does not act in accordance with the Divine will, he acts contrary to it, and does so act continually; and thus produces results opposed to the will, and consequently to the intention of God. 22. All such results must be evil in themselves, and be productive of evil, because they are not in harmony with the will of God. 23. Thus man is the cause of his own unhappiness, and does from himself originate evil. 24. Now, that only is evil which tends to retard or destroy the advance and improvement, the welfare and happiness, of mankind; 25. Which it is admitted, all vice, sin, and crime, all error, falsehood, and superstition, do tend to retard or destroy; 26. And this not on earth alone; but their malign influence may, and does, no doubt, affect man's spiritual well-being hereafter. 27. And since the final result, as educed by the Disposer of all things, after this life is beyond the ken of mortal man, so, being assured of His Divine purpose, and equally assured of His Divine love and Divine wisdom, we do confidently yield ourselves up to His tender and providential care, from henceforward and for ever. 28. Now, as we have pointed out (Axiom 12), that the advancement, improvement, welfare, and final happiness of the whole human race is the great aim which we must conclude the Creator to have ever in view as regards the exercise of His Divine Providence ; 29. And as the improvement, welfare, and happiness of all must necessarily include the improvement, welfare, and happiness of each-for in a perfect, entire work, each separate part must be perfect in itself; 30. It follows, that the perfecting, the welfare and the happiness of each individual is also kept in view by the Deity. 31. But by His divine arrangement, such perfecting, welfare, and happiness of the individual must depend mainly on his own exertions; because God has furnished him with means to the attainment of that end, and has given him orders to make use of them, and directions how to do so. 32. And this welfare and happiness are not dependent on what are called accidents of birth, or on wealth, position, or intellect; since the attainment of them is put within the power of every living man, each in his degree; 33. For it is admitted that every person, in whatever situation of life he finds himself placed, can advance his own improvement, welfare, and happiness, to some extent at least. 34. And as the progress of all the human race is arranged and directed by the Prescience, and consequent Providence, of the Deity; 35. So the progress of every human being can be directed or advanced by the exercise of foresight and its resultant, prudence; which, on a small scale, and in difference of degree, correspond to the Prescience and Providence of the Creator. 36. And thus we must admit, that foresight in man having as its result, prudence, is one of the most invaluable endowments he has from his Creator. 37. It is this leads him to make plans for his future course, and to act in freedom, so far as circumstances admit, from his own free will, producing results which he may, and does, ordinarily depend upon as probable, if not assured, unless crossed and contravened by the action of others. 38. Thus, by foresight and consequent prudence, man has it in his own power to advance his own interests; and by their employment has also the power of obviating, in a great measure, the results of chance. 39. Now the main method by which foresight, and consequent prudence, are exercised by man for the control of chance, is by means of communication with his fellow-creatures; 40. That they may be made acquainted with his aims, and he with theirs. 41. Thus he finds that intercourse with his fellows is necessary to his welfare and happiness; 42. And that therefore the practice of social intercourse is a law of progress, and necessary to the welfare and happiness of all men; 43. And that, as what is good for one is necessarily good for all, or what tends to the welfare of the individual must also tend to the welfare of the mass; 44. So social intercourse tends to the welfare of nations, and if so, is ordained so by the Creator, and is one of His laws, and is consequently one of the means by which His great aim of the world's progress, welfare, and happiness is to be advanced. 45. And as the exercise of such intercourse, by means of which foresight, and consequent prudence, are utilised and made of effect, tends to diminish, alter, and control the results of chance, or the uncertainty arising from independent action in individuals, 46. So does it necessarily produce the same effect with nations; 47. And thus hap-hazard events can be avoided, crosspurposes be reconciled, independent projects be made to harmonise with each other by means of communication and intercourse between nation and nation, between government and govern ment. 48. And as all this tends to obviate confusion and disorder in the world, and as confusion and dis order are clearly not willed by the Deity, who desires only our welfare and happiness, with which confusion and disorder are incompatible; 49. So the exercise of foresight and prudence in man is required by his Maker, and the intercourse of nation with nation is shown also to be one of the great laws of His order, which it is the duty of all men to aid in carrying out. 50. And thus, whatever influence the Creator exercises, His Providence must clearly act for the attainment of that purpose, and it is also equally clear that mankind are intended to co-operate with Him, have the power to do so, and are ordered to do so. 51. And thus, that not by fate, or by Divine necessity, is the welfare of mankind arranged and carried out, but by the Providence of the Creator, assisting and directing the freely made and personal efforts of the created themselves, working in the order according to which He has created them, and exercising the powers with which He has freely and voluntarily furnished them, under the inspiration of love to the Giver. 52. And as such intercourse tends clearly to the welfare of the human race, so are all the means which tend to the increased spread and prevalence of such intercourse desirable, and are indeed blessed. 53. And that as the whole tendency of modern discovery is to facilitate and extend such intercourse, so does the advancement, improvement, welfare, and happiness of the whole human race, clearly depend on increased means of intercourse, thus bringing the foresight and prudence, the ability, the learning, the wisdom, the experience, the power and the wealth of all nations into a common line of action, harmonising the progress of each separate nation, making the interest of one the interest of all, and finally uniting all people and languages into one common course of action, having one main object in view-the great object of the Divine Maker Himself, the holy and ever-present Parent of us all-viz., the advancement, improvement, welfare and happiness of the entire human race, progressing continually under the guidance of His providence, and through the voluntary efforts of those who are most deeply concerned in it; which is clearly not only the whole world itself, but every individual member of the human race, acting from free-will, and seeking his own welfare and happiness which, when directed by his love of God, conduces to the welfare of all his fellowcreatures. Now we have commenced our investigation, it is true, by assuming certain points as facts, viz., the existence and nature of God; freewill and self-love in man; and from them we have come step by step down to what are admitted truths, and to conclusions in which all men agree; and the result seems to us to be as logical, evident, and unavoidable, as it is useful, encouraging and reasonable; evolving a belief consonant with the natural ideas of all men, unless warped or perverted by education, as to the character of the Creator and His undoubted exercise of power in the government of the world, and as to their own position in relation to the Deity, to their fellow-creatures, and, if we may so put it, to themselves. It is our conviction, moreover, that by proceeding from the lowest to the highest, or from facts to theory, instead of pursuing our plan, which is just the contrary, the same results would of necessity be obtained. CHAPTER IX. REVELATION, INSPIRATION, AND PROPHECY. WE do admit the possibility and likelihood of special revelation from God to man, from the Creator to the creature, from the Divine Parent to His human offspring, and we believe that such revelations have been accorded to certain individuals and people in all early periods of the |