Disease and Death. 119 



In considering this subject, we will, for the pres- 

 ent, exclude man. For though he is liable to pain 

 and death like the meanest animal on the globe, lie 

 has a moral nature, and claims to be immortal ; so 

 that it is possible to put pain and suffering on 

 entirely different grounds when considering man, 

 from what we can when considering the lower ani- 

 mals. Man's highest enjoyment or suffering is cer- 

 tainly not connected with his physical svstem. He 

 can in his moral strength despise both pain and 

 death. \Ye shall have occasion to refer to this sub- 

 ject when I ition of the world to 

 the moral nature of man. Hut for the present, we 

 wish to inquire what can be inferred of the charac- 

 UT of the Creator, from the pain and death of the 

 lower animals. 



The two main points which we wish to make are 

 the- 



First. That by death among the lower animals, 

 a greater amount of enjoyment is secured to them 

 as a class than could be secured without it. 



Second. In disease and all methods by which 

 death is produced, no case can be pointed out in 

 which suffering is plainly inflicted for its own sake. 



If it can be shown that happiness among animals 

 is in excess of misery, and that there are provisions 

 made for relieving pain and curing disease, then the 

 burden is on those who doubt either the existence 

 or perfect benevolence of the Creator, to show that 

 there is not a wise and good reason for the exist- 

 ence of so much pain and suffering as are found in 



