The world at large disgusts them: it takes the part of
their enemies. It favors the religious classes, and mocks and tortures
the infidel philosopher. Their bodies are not right; they are always
ailing, and threatening to give way: and their minds are not right; they
are never contented and at rest. There is nothing right in the present;
and there is nothing promising in the future. They think themselves the
wisest people in the world, yet people in general regard them as fools;
and they themselves can see that their fancied wisdom does not prove
their friend.
They can give no explanation of the mysteries of the universe. They
cannot account for the facts which geology reveals with regard to the
natural history of the globe. They cannot account for the mechanism of
the heavens, or the chemistry of the earth. They cannot account for
life, organization, or intelligence. They cannot account for instinct.
They cannot account for the marks of design which are everywhere visible
in Nature, nor for the numberless wonders of special arrangement and
adaptation manifest in her works. They cannot account for the difference
between man and the lower animals. Animals can indulge themselves freely
and take no harm; man cannot indulge himself freely without misery and
ruin.
Pages:
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733