166 EVIL IN THE WORLD. 



sed quia id in quo exerceatur suepe inobsequens arti 

 est?> 



This passage, in touching upon the origin of matter 

 itself, brings into view the most profound question in 

 all philosophy the relation of the Creator to the ma- 

 terial of creation. The problem is as insoluble now as 

 in, the days of Seneca, and so must remain to every 

 future age. Where neither matter nor spirit admit of 

 other conception or definition than through the phe- 

 nomena they bring before us, all hypotheses as to their 

 primary relation are idle and fruitless. The word a/ox 7 ?* 

 used in the same sense as the Beginning of Genesis, 

 denotes what will ever be a hidden mystery to man. 



But that the defect or oppugnancy of matter is 

 the cause of evil in the world, w r e may deny on this 

 plain consideration, that what seems defect or special 

 evil in certain parts of creation does not occur equally, 

 or at all, in other parts, though the material worked 

 upon, and the power working, are the same throughout. 

 This argument applies not solely to the physical but 

 even more to the mental and moral conditions of 

 humanity. To every evil and imperfection there is 

 some comparative good or perfection standing in con- 

 trast. The creative power put forth and seen in these 

 higher and happier manifestations cannot be judged as 

 one limited or controlled by some inevitable necessity 

 in those other cases where our shallow reason discerns 

 only evil or defect. 



This hypothesis, as regards matter, belongs chiefly, 

 however, to the ancient philosophy, and I dwell upon it 

 only because I have had occasion two or three times to 



