From the Unconscious to the Conscious 



just, and supremely good Providence. Transformism 

 is said to be in no way incompatible with the idea of a 

 Divine plan and with traditional teaching disencumbered 

 of puerile and obsolete dogmatic impedimenta. 



Far from being contrary to the providential idea, 

 they say, the evolutionary formula would remove the 

 grave objections arising from the imperfections of the 

 universe. These imperfections, too marked to be recon- 

 cilable with the notion of a responsible Providence and 

 a definitive creation, are, on the contrary, easily compre- 

 hensible in a world in process of evolution. They would 

 then appear only as necessities inherent in an inferior 

 state, and even as the measure of the inferiority of that 

 state at the moment. 1 



It is not without some hesitation that I discuss the 

 cogency of this reasoning. 2 Such discussions must seem 

 useless and wearisome alike to partisans and opponents 

 of the idea of Providence, for all that can be said on this 

 subject has already been said; also the question is one 

 of those that go with unshakable convictions or beliefs. 



But as soon as men claim to substitute logical argu- 

 ments for an ancient act of faith apart from any criterion, 

 it is necessary to follow them into the domain of facts, 

 and to set forth once more the objections which inevitably 

 rise up against their thesis. 



These objections can be reduced to two leading 

 ones : 



(a) That based on the evidence of gropings and 

 errors in evolution. 



() That based on the prevalence of evil in the 

 universe. 



1 See the curious collection of Conferences of the Rev. F. Zahn, trans- 

 lated under the title, L'Evolution et le Dogme, by the Abbe Flageolet, 

 published by Lethellieux, 10 rue Cassette, Paris. 



* This chapter must on no account be considered apart from the rest. 

 Those which precede it and those which follow, prove that there is no 

 need to have recourse to the providential idea in order to recognise an 

 ideal harmony in the universe. We shall endeavour to demonstrate 

 that evolution tends towards the realisation of sovereign consciousness, 

 sovereign justice, and sovereign good. 



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