334 THE WORLD OF LIFE CHAP, xvi 



If there is a ruling and creative power to which the existence 

 of our cosmos is due, and if we are its one and unique 

 highest outcome, able to understand and to make use of the 

 forces and products of nature in a way that no other animal 

 has been able to do ; and if, further, there is any reasonable 

 probability of a continuous life for us, in which we may still 

 further develop that higher spiritual nature which we possess, 

 then we have a perfect right, on logical and scientific grounds, 

 to see in the infinitely varied products of the animal and 

 vegetable kingdoms, which we alone can and do make use 

 of, a preparation for ourselves, to assist in our mental 

 development, and to fit us for a progressively higher state 

 of existence as spiritual beings. 



