NATURES LAWS 321 



nest with the young are the personal belongings 

 of father and mother. Man was once a poly- 

 gamist, but he has got to the higher plane; 

 possibly he may degenerate in the future if the 

 great law of procreation is ignored. Man is 

 "Nature's insurgent son," as Dr. Ray Lankester 

 well says, but can he afford to neglect the 

 teachings of his mother ? 



The great problems of life can be answered only 

 by the student of nature ; the true revelation is 

 before him. Whether he believes in the Eternal 

 that worketh for good, or decides to leave over 

 a first cause as something beyond thinking, he is 

 bound to admit consequences. These conse- 

 quences are lessons that cannot be ignored ; cause 

 and effect must be studied. As everything he 

 knows conduces to some good end, he can only 

 conclude that there is no such thing as real evil. 

 Death is as necessary as birth, and without both 

 organic Life would be at a standstill. It is quite 

 evident that progress is the aim of everything, 

 and we may go so far as to say that it is the 

 intention of the Ruler of the universe. Trouble 

 and pain develop the faculties and, from the 

 higher standpoint, the cardinal virtues. There 

 is no real difficulty in choosing what is right, and 

 we must keep always in mind that this must be 

 21 



