154 THE PORTAL OF EVOLUTION 



shall evolve a perfect soul. And in the same manner the indi- 

 vidual sins of each one of us are destined to evolve our 

 virtues, and our crimes in just the same way are destined to 

 benefit the community, either as an example to deter others 

 from the committal of like crimes or to increase our individual 

 disgust of evil and admiration of virtue, or to be a means of 

 punishment for sins and failings that are injurious to our 

 neighbour or highly detrimental to the production of the 

 virtues most suitable to our individual requirements; or the 

 qualities necessary to enable us to perform such acts as will 

 assist us to become of most use in adding to the maintenance, 

 and content of our fellowmen and the evolution of wisdom. 



Therefore God in his wisdom permits evils that we 

 may be able to evolve good therefrom, and so the end justifies 

 the means, but we may rest assured that we can perform no 

 act that injures, annoys or destroys the happiness of our 

 neighbours without its being punished by ill-health, poverty 

 or our falling in the social esteem of our neighbours, and 

 even death, and that will not be visited by misery or unhappi- 

 ness in our own lives and those of our children. All acts 

 that are opposed to or inclined to prevent our perfect fulfil- 

 ment of the duties of our particular state of life, or detract from 

 the fulfilment of the duties we owe to others, will not escape 

 punishment, neither will the performance of the duties of the 

 individual and particular circumstances, for which our talents 

 and capabilities best fit us, go unnoticed, but will be rewarded 

 in our children. So each of us has not only the salvation of our 

 own individual soul to perform as a sacred duty, but also the 

 salvation of our children's souls. The performance of such 

 duties decides how far we are to gain heaven or hell in this life, 

 and what reward or punishment we bequeath to our children. 



But the effect of our acts on the happiness or unhappi- 

 ness of our neighbours, the good or harm we do to others, the 

 extent to which we assist or fail to assist the maintenance and 

 livelihood of our fellow-men will decide in our offspring their 

 chances of losing or obtaining hereditary virtuous or vicious 

 inclinations, and of their leading a good or bad life. So also 

 the happiness of our own lives is not the outcome of its sur- 

 roundings, such as wealth, pleasure or health, so much as the 

 absence of extreme poverty, sorrow, ill-health or debility, and 

 it will not be the result of the blessings we strive to attain, 



