

ULTIMATE RELIGIOUS IDEAS. 43 



being thus self -destructive, we may naturally expect to find 

 the same antagonism manifested in their special applica- 

 tions. * * * How, for example, can Infinite Power be able 

 to do all things, and yet Infinite Goodness be unable to do 

 evil? How can Infinite Justice exact the utmost penalty 

 for every sin, and yet Infinite Mercy pardon the sinner? 

 How can Infinite Wisdom know all that is to come, and yet 

 Infinite Freedom be at liberty to do or to forbear? How is 

 the existence of Evil compatible with that of an infinitely 

 perfect Being; for if he wills it, he is not infinitely good; 

 and if he wills it not, his will is thwarted and his sphere of 

 action limited?" * * * 



" Let us, however, suppose for an instant that these 

 difficulties are surmounted, and the existence of the Abso- 

 lute securely established on the testimony of reason. Still 

 we have not succeeded in reconciling this idea with that of a 

 Cause: we have done nothing towards explaining how the 

 absolute can give rise to the relative, the infinite to the 

 finite. If the condition of causal activity is a higher state 

 than that of quiescence, the Absolute, whether acting vol- 

 untarily or involuntarily, has passed from a condition of 

 comparative imperfection to one of comparative per- 

 fection; and therefore was not originally perfect. If 

 the state of activity is an inferior state to that of 

 quiescence, the Absolute, in becoming a cause, has lost its 

 original perfection. There remains only the supposition 

 that the two states are equal, and the act of creation one of 

 complete indifference. But this supposition annihilates the 

 unity of the absolute, or it annihilates itself. If the act of 

 creation is real, and yet indifferent, we must admit the pos- 

 sibility of two conceptions of the absolute, the one as pro- 

 ductive, the other as non-productive. If the act is not real, 

 the supposition itself vanishes." * * * 



" Again, how can the relative be conceived as coming 

 into being? If it is a distinct reality from the absolute, it 

 must be conceived as passing from non-existence into exist- 



