178 THE THRESHOLD OF EVOLUTION 



responsibility to God and to your neighbour, not to destroy 

 your existing beliefs before evolution has sufficiently evolved 

 your soul of Understanding to receive more perfect conceptions 

 of divine revelations. For nothing is more marked in the 

 teaching of Christ than his effort, both by parable and evasive 

 replies to questions from his apostles as regards the future 

 course of evolution, than his care to hide the wisdom that he 

 possessed yet was far too wise to display as he realised that 

 their minds were not then sufficiently developed to be able to 

 understand, or even comprehend the mysteries of the future. 



Remember, when we are about to renovate our house 

 or home we do not decide to pull it down until we have con- 

 sulted an architect as to whether or not it is necessary to do so, 

 and as to whether or not a fresh coat of paint, modern windows, 

 a verandah, etc., will not suffice to modernize it before we 

 destroy the massive masonry that has braved a hundred years 

 or more. So I advise you to leave to the enlightened minds of 

 the day to decide the rights and wrongs of what I have written 

 and of the revelations science is unfolding. Utilise if you like 

 as much of what you have read as will or can assist you to 

 build up purer and more perfect ideals of the aims and objects 

 of life, or will help you to obtain a more perfect idea of your 

 own insignificant position in the magnificent and mighty 

 scheme of evolution of which you form but a part, or that can 

 assist you to make your life more perfect or of greater use 

 to the community amongst whom you live. Try and let the 

 views I have expressed and the teachings of evolution enable 

 you to turn the great lessons it contains to some practical 

 account, and remember that the whole of evolution shows that 

 we do not live for ourselves or for this life, and while we are 

 in our bodies we must " give unto Caesar the things that are 

 Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." 



To Caesar, that is, to our neighbour, we owe love and 

 consideration, the forgiveness of his sins, that is, his faults 

 and failings, so long as they do not endanger our safety, or 

 freedom, for the faults and failings of one man make the 

 virtues and successes of his neighbour. Venerate all just and 

 honest success. It is the stamp of God in man. Respect and 

 copy those who possess it. Take lessons from the failures of 

 others, not so that you may benefit by them, but that you may 

 avoid them ; try and prevent folly of any sort, for nothing is 



