ANIMALS PROMISED A PARADISE 99 



prehension, into myriads of worlds He has in reserve 

 for His purposes. 



Instead of circumscribing the Christian religion 

 to one species of God's creatures, I would let its 

 wings of mercy spread out over all suffering 

 animal life. It is a narrow conclusion to suppose 

 that man is the only animal the Creator has pro- 

 vided for or cares for. The place man holds in 

 comparison with the universe is humble beyond all 

 statement of degree. 



There are angels, archangels, cherubim, seraphim, 

 and various other spirits in the celestial hierarchy 

 which are as far above man as the heavens are 

 above the earth. How unreasonable to believe 

 that the Creator, who made the lower animals and 

 endowed them with a high sense of enjoyment, 

 turned them out into the wide theatre of the uni- 

 verse, there to struggle as best they could, and to 

 endure all the suffering and torture their sensitive, 

 quivering nerves could bear ; and then doomed them 

 to an eternal annihilation. Would such a partial 

 destiny be consistent with the attributes of a 

 Christian's God ? We look at the low and de- 

 graded state of the Hindoos, the Hottentots, the 

 Bushmen, and ask the question, " How is it possible 



