Time and Consequence ii9 



words certain facts which he has discovered or learned by 

 investigation, which will be beneficial to the people he thus 

 leads. He merely voices the facts of nature; he does not 

 dictate or make them. And if he assumes to command, it 

 is because he feels that his confidence will help his fellows. 

 When Moses uttered the ten commandments to the Israelites 

 from Mount Sinai it was his purpose to induce them to do 

 what he knew was good for them and their race. The com- 

 mandments were right because they would have that good 

 effect and not simply because they were uttered as coming 

 from God. That they were so uttered was because that was 

 the customary method of appeal to the people of a patriarchal 

 age. To them any statement or law which was not sup- 

 ported by divine or patriarchal authority was not likely to 

 have attention. Just as boys in a school would refuse to 

 study subjects suggested by any others than their regular 

 masters, so these tribal people would respect only the ad- 

 vice which came from their known authorities. And who 

 shall say that the wisdom of Moses was not a gift from God 

 as it appeared to these simple and ignorant people. To-day 

 reason and fact behind a law are employed to argue its 

 worthiness, because our people are a reasoning and fact- 

 loving people ; but a law which is not based upon the work- 

 ings of nature will not stand the test of experience, whether 

 it be promulgated by a modern legislature or by a patri- 

 archal Moses. The laws which do stand are not made by 

 these authorities, they are merely voiced by them. In the 

 morality of nature they are right only when they are bene- 

 ficial to the people who obey them. 



Laws which are promulgated by persons in power with- 



