186 ANDREW JACKSON HOWE. 



cede something to the liberalism that is rapidly gain- 

 ing adherents through scientific discoveries. The in- 

 quiring nature of the average man's mind will never 

 he satisfied with any thing short of the reasonable 

 truth, though actual demonstration may never be at- 

 tained. There is nothing necessarily purposive in all 

 the operations of inanimate matter. An earthquake 

 may alter the phases of a mountain range, and lift 

 the bed of the ocean above the sea's level, yet accom- 

 plish no definite object; there need not be any design 

 in the disturbing movement, though the subsidence or 

 upheaval greatly deranges the flora and fauna of the 

 shaky region. Many large and important islands, as 

 the Sandwich, Society, and other groups, are of vol- 

 canic origin, and are still the abode of igneous erup- 

 tions. In contemplating the birth of these new lands, 

 is it rationally supposable that the moving cause had 

 wise intentions ? The optimist might cut the Gordian 

 knot by declaring that all cosmic changes have a good 

 purpose to fulfill, and that these transformations were 

 contemplated by Omniscience, nothing having turned 

 out differently from what was expected. 



Another feature of the optimist's belief is that 

 life is the chiefest of blessings, and that Creative Wis- 

 dom has prepared the earth for the cultivation, multi- 

 plication, and conservation of the inestimable gift. As 

 soon as this doctrine is examined, it becomes apparent 

 that the most has not been made of the " blessing." 

 We find that to have the most of life on the planet, 

 animals should be all vegetable eaters. Instead of 

 such a paradise on earth, where all should be peace, 

 there is eternal war, and animals curtail life by eating 

 one another. Voracious sharks infest every sea, and 

 fish in general prey upon their kind. The smaller of 



