THE RISE OF CONSCIOUSNESS 



I know that " unhappiness " cannot exist in the 

 mind of man as a permanent sentiment. During 

 times of suffering and misfortune he finds his 

 level almost at once, and thereafter lie is buoyed 

 with constant hopes of rising. 



Let me sum up my argument before proceeding 

 further. It will be remembered that a correspon- 

 dent, concealing from the public a well-known 

 personality under the name of " Freethinker," 

 challenged the right of anyone who studies nature 

 to adopt the religious note which he had observed 

 in some of my writing, because, as he labored at 

 some length to show, the study of nature's ways 

 reveals so much cruelty and suffering at every 

 step as to be incompatible with belief in a merci- 

 ful Creator. 



Now this was no idle statement. The author 

 is a man of known ability, a good naturalist, and 

 perfectly honest in his opinion 'that knowledge of 

 nature and belief in religion are incompatible. The 

 point which he raised was one which has been an 

 insuperable stumbling-block to many. 



Nor is there in the works of any theologian or 

 man of science such an explanation of the appar- 

 ent cruelty in nature as will satisfy a logical mind. 



Now this would be a very terrible state of 



[109] 



