246 THE THRESHOLD OF EVOLUTION 



produces comfort. Rest not excitement, that produces 

 happiness ; Temperance, not abstinence, that produces virtue. 

 Strive to succeed ; nothing venture nothing win. It is by 

 learning to sin with wisdom and moderation, not by ab- 

 staining from sin or failure, that we are to gain virtue and 

 heaven. It is not by our pleasing ourselves but by not 

 displeasing our neighbour that we are to gain Joy, Pleasure 

 and Happiness, not by play nor indolence. And it is not by 

 our efforts for our own aims, but by doing our duty to our 

 masters, magistrates and God our Creator that we are to pro- 

 duce wealth, not by selfishly trying to grasp all we can, but 

 by doing our quota to help those amongst whom we live, move 

 and have our being, that we may achieve advancement. 

 Content with the lot that falls to our share, provided the 

 burden is such as we can carry, grateful that the strong, the 

 rich and the mighty, lift the heaviest weights off our 

 shoulders, confident that if we do our quota we shall receive 

 our deserts. 



I must now point out that before we can use our knowledge 

 to advantage, religion and education must take these maxims 

 to heart. In the last paragraph I have purposely put 

 obedience to our masters before our obedience to God. The 

 duty of the individual commences with our duty to our master 

 and ends with our duty to our neighbour, for if we are dutiful 

 to these two we will also be dutiful to God. The duty of the 

 master is to the law and the nation, the duty of the law is to 

 the state, and the duty of the state is to the laws of God. 

 Hence the individual must first endeavour to please the master 

 whose business supports him, and the wife to obey the husband 

 who supports her, then the household to the community, the 

 community to the township or magistrate, the township to the 

 country or nation, and last but not least, the national govern- 

 ment to the laws of nature, for nature and God are identical, 

 and these are the only laws whose punishments we cannot 

 escape. 



Hence, the Nation, if it is to advance in the future, must 

 study to adapt its course on the lines of past evolution, in such 

 a manner as will be most calculated to produce the most 

 desirable forms of the evolution of its social organisation in 

 the future. Thus I maintain that if we are to educate our 



