164 THE PORTAL OF EVOLUTION 



as regards the reward or punishments of nations, this is de- 

 cided not only by the virtues or crimes of the individuals, but 

 more by the ultimate results that will accrue to mankind as a 

 whole and the part it has to play in the scheme of evolution. 

 Thus it often happens that the greatest good of mankind is 

 attained by the increase to a preposterous degree of the crimes 

 perpetrated by the rulers, or the masses, of a particular nation ; 

 yet the good that thereby results to the world at large more 

 than counter -balances the crimes that the nation or its rulers 

 commit, as the case may be. Thus the crimes of one nation 

 or people, and the follies of its misgovernment or the private 

 sins and crimes they commit, often do more to advance 

 evolution and to teach and enlarge the minds of mankind as 

 a whole, than all the acts of virtue they could by any possi- 

 bility perform or accomplish. 



So we see that where evolution is concerned the abstract 

 statement that there is no such thing as evil is correct. For 

 God being perfect wisdom and mercy and justice cannot do or 

 permit evil or vice or injustice. Hence it follows that good 

 and evil are only comparative forms of existence as compared 

 with our individual liberty, freedom and happiness, and as 

 weighed and defined by individual communities to which we 

 belong. It consequently follows that the only way to be vir- 

 tuous is to make the best possible use of our time, abilities 

 and energy for the good of the community, at the same time 

 using all possible care not to injure our neighbour in any way 

 that may* really be harmful to him, and to trust to God to 

 reward" us accordingly. For Christ says : " Trust then, oh! 

 ye of little faith, in My Heavenly Father, whose grace is suffi- 

 cient for thee if the sin be not unnatural/* 



I will now give a couple of historical instances of the manner 

 in which the highest benefit to other nations and to the world 

 at large is often the outcome of the sins of one nation or its 

 people. For instance, nothing in history could be more vicious 

 than the Huguenot persecution in France, or more criminal 

 than the acts of the statesmen who brought it about, yet it is 

 an undeniable fact that it was one of the most powerful factors 

 towards the general advancement of commerce in the course of 

 history by driving a lot of capital in the hands of a collec- 

 tion of the most enterprising men, possessed of the most 

 advanced business acumen of the day, into the new world. 



