340 PRESENT-DAY RATIONALISM 



parasites on man, be (as is evidently intended by Mr. 

 Spencer) evil ; then a fortiori, all carnivorous animals 

 must be "evil" and we must presume all herbivorous 

 animals "good," and man himself must therefore be 

 " evil " too. But we have started with the idea that he 

 was " good " and his parasites " evil ". Of what character 

 then are those animals, besides man, that partake of a 

 mixed diet, as the rat and pig ? 



Let us recognise this world as never furnishing more 

 than a relative condition of things ; while the "purpose" 

 of that, too, is not difficult to see, now that we have the 

 light of Christ's revelation as to the meaning of the 

 world thrown upon it ; namely, as a state of probation 

 for man to fit him for a higher destiny than any which 

 this world can furnish. If we accept tJiis as a universal 

 truth, we shall not discolour our view of creation by 

 erroneous views of God's goodness, much less by ration- 

 alistic, monistic or atheistic ideas. 



