Page:God Manifest.djvu/359

 Look now beneath the surface, into the bosom, of the earth, and note what treasures the good Creator has there laid up for man,—what stores of coal, of iron, of silver and gold, and the other metals. What quantities, in particular, of gold—that precious metal so much coveted, as being essential wealth, though in fact it is but the representative of wealth,—are now daily brought forth from the earth! How profusely has a kind Providence spread it, far and wide, just beneath the surface of the ground, so that man has but to put in his hand and gather the golden harvest, almost as easily as he reaps the crops of grain! Can it be said, then, that the Divine Creator has not supplied wealth in abundance, of every kind?

Why is it, then, that there is so much poverty in the world? For the reason, as already in general terms stated,—that man, in the disordered moral condition into which he has brought himself, does not rightly use the good gifts of Providence, but either misapplies, or perverts, or destroys them.

In the first place, wealth is very unequally distributed, so that while some have a superabundance, others have too little, and others nothing at all. This is, in great part, the direct result of man's selfishness,—that principle which we have all along shown to be the essence and root of all evil. It is true, indeed, that there must necessarily be inequalities in society—higher and lower stations; and this, for the plain reason, that there are higher and lower uses to be performed, superior and inferior offices to be filled. (We have no reference, here, to the artificial ranks existing in some countries, which tend rather to interfere with the natural varieties ordained by the Creator,—