I 



NO REVELATION OF THE INFINITE. 319 



same reason, as evil. God can have no purpose, 

 and the world cannot be in process. For a 

 purpose and process both imply limitation. To 

 adapt means to ends implies that the ends cannot 

 be achieved without them ; to attain aims by a 

 process implies that they cannot be reached instan- 

 taneously. An infinite power, therefore, can have 

 no need of means to attain its ends, no need of a 

 process whereby to evolve the world, no need of 

 evil as a means to good. It requires no means, 

 and hence the '' means " it uses can have no mean- 

 inof. The world becomes an unintellimble freak of 

 irresponsible insanity. If the world is the product 

 of an infinite power, it is utterly unknowable, be- 

 cause its process and its nature would be alike 

 unnecessary and unaccountable. 



Thus the attribute of infinity, so far from exalt- 

 ing the Deity, would rather make him into a devil, 

 careless of, and even rejoicing in, evil and misery, 

 infinitely worse than the Devil of tradition, because 

 armed with omnipotence, and, in view of the im- 

 possibility of admitting the independence of the 

 Finite, also infinitely more unaccountable, inasmuch 

 as in inflicting misery on the world, he would after 

 all only be lacerating himself. 



\ 6. And perhaps it may be added, for the 

 benefit of theologians, and in order to complete the 

 cycle of absurdities in which this supposed infinity 

 of the Deity results, that it is utterly fatal to any 

 belief in revelation. Revelation may be conceived 

 appropriate on the part of a Deity of limited 

 powers, who either cannot govern the world per- 

 fectly by ordinary law, or uses it as an exceptional 

 means which it would be too expensive to employ 

 constantly, or as an occasional stimulus to acceler- 



