222, CANON W. SAUMAREZ SMITH, B.D. 
contradiction.” The possibility of sin is “ the condition of 
created liberty,” “but the cause of the actual realisation of 
evil exists nowhere else than in the will which rebels against 
law.’ The exercise of this rebellious self-will introduces 
disaster and discord into human history. And the worst kinds 
of suffering and sorrow are the results of sin. The fact, how- 
ever, that suffering follows sin—dogs it, we may say—is surely 
a hopeful feature in the survey of this strange, disturbing 
influence in the world of humanity. Whether such suffering 
be viewed as penal, or as remedial, it speaks of a tendency in 
the whole order of things which is contrary’ to sin. The 
solution, however, of the mystery of moral evil, and the cure 
of the mischief, must be confessed to be beyond the grasp of 
our finite philosophy. But though in this matter philosophy 
can help us little, the Revelation from God which Christians 
allege to have been made in Jesus Christ helps us much, at 
any rate in a practical way, and allows us to hope that 
sin and all its sad results in the world may be regarded 
as “the conditions of a grander order” of things yet to be 
revealed. 
17. I have said nothing yet of death, as an evil. ‘To the 
Pessimist, privation of hfe ought to be, by his very theory, 
rather good than evil. To the bare Materialist, death is but 
a cessation of molecular movements of matter. To the 
spiritualist philosopher, death must appear to be an emanci- 
pation. ‘To the Christian believer it is the gate into a higher 
realm of life. That death is so generally dreaded and viewed 
as an evil, even by those whose circumstances of earthly life 
seem most miserable, is a strong argument against the truth 
of a pessimistic philosophy, and a strong argument in favour 
of the theory which regards life and the faculties of living as 
designed for happiness. 
To those who believe in the spiritual capacity of man, and 
yet have doubt as to any future existence, death must present 
itself as a burden and a sadness, because it quenches aspira- 
tion and stops progress. Such a view can only be cured by 
the hope of a life to come. 
Death, in its relation to sin, is a theological topic, and can- 
not be dealt with in this paper. 
18. Sufficient has been now said by way of protest against 
taking up with the philosophy of despair. The positive con- 
siderations in favour of an optimistic philosophy are partly 
derived from a comprehensive logical inference, and partly 
from an intense moral conviction. When we look at the 
world as a whole, we perceive a preponderance of phenomena 
that meke for general happiness, and a wonderful adjustment 
