EVIL AND ALTRUISM IN NATURE 303 



is necessary to induce man to acquaint himself with 

 them. If it were not for this inducement he would 

 make little effort. The fact that the laws of nature 

 are uniform enables man to determine future results, 

 and thereby to regulate his conduct. If they changed 

 from day to day he would never be able to tell in 

 advance what would be the result of any course of 

 conduct — his labors would be fruitless, and he-would 

 speedily perish. If, therefore, fixed laws are neces- 

 sary for man's existence, and if the failure to comply 

 with these laws produces suffering, it cannot justly be 

 claimed that the Author of Nature's laws acted un- 

 wisely in establishing them, nor that he was destitute 

 of love for those who suffer. Suffering is incidental 

 to the operation of laws that are necessary for man's 

 •existence and well-being. Besides, it is the school- 

 master who compels him to search out and obey these 

 necessary laws. 



The total amount of suffering is small compared to 

 the amount of enjoyment among sentient creatures. 

 Imagination, I believe, greatly exaggerates the real 

 sufferings of humanity. Those who are most sensi- 

 tive to pain interpret the sufferings of others through 

 their own natures as standards, thus greatly exagger- 

 ating the facts. The man who has always been rich 

 misinterprets the sufferings from poverty of the man 

 who has always been poor, and if the rich man is 

 suddenly reduced to poverty, his suffering is fre- 

 quently so keen that he is led to commit suicide. 

 The gratification of desires becomes painful when 

 carried to excess, and this pain is necessary to save 

 the organism from complete exhaustion and death. 



If any finite creature — man, for example — were 

 incapable of suffering, and if all its acts resulted in 

 pleasure only, then its powers would speedily become 

 ■exhausted. Suffering, therefore, seems to be the 



