(3) Is the universe eternal and self-abiding, or has it been created by some one? (4A) Taking it for granted that there is some one to be considered the Creator of the universe, we want to know what was the period of the creation, and how long the creation will last; what it was at first, and what will it be hereafter? Did the Creator create all beings (old and young, children and parents) in a moment, or did He create them in succession? Were male and female created at the same time, or one after the other? (4B) Did the Creator bestow rewards on the actions of men in a former life, or did He create them freely of His own accord? Is He the Giver of rewards, the Ruler of the Universe, or simply the Creator? (4C) How is it, then, that God created rich and poor, happy and sad? What were the acts that could have produced such results? (5) What is the real matter of the five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and ether, and of the soul? What is the origin of the smallest atoms (paramâ_n_u) and of time? (6) Is there any method which, acted upon, will save us from anxieties and troubles of this world, and by means of which we may reach Nirvâ_n_a? (7) What was the origin of idol-worship? Is it good, or is it contrary to the Sacred Books? (8) Was Buddhism an offshoot of _G_ainism, or vice versa? or have both religions arisen separately from time immemorial? (9) By whom were the Vedas compiled, and what do they treat of? (10) Where does the soul go to after death? Is there any heaven or hell in which the rewards of actions, both good and bad, are to be enjoyed? My correspondents, who are evidently men of cultivated minds, describe themselves simply as cloth-merchants. I know nothing more about them, but we may learn from their letter what is the unseen stream of thought running through India. They seem to belong to the Digambara sect of the _G_ain religion. I doubt whether any English cloth-merchants would have appealed to J. S. Mill or to Darwin for a solution of such metaphysical difficulties. We may consider such questions unreasonable, only we must not imagine that because we do not speak of these riddles, we ourselves have solved them. Nay, it may be useful to be reminded from time to time of the limits of our knowledge, so as not to trust too much to the omniscience of our own philosophers.