Again: without a revelation we have no knowledge of any kind of mind but by inference from our experience in this state of being. All we know of the _Eternal First Cause_ is by a process of reasoning, inferring that his nature must be _like_ the only minds of which we have any knowledge. We assume, then, that he is a free agent, regulated by desire for happiness and fear of evil. We thus come to the conclusion that this organization of mind is a part of the _fixed and eternal nature of things_, and does not result from the will of the Creator. His own is the eternal pattern of an all-perfect mind, and our own are formed on this perfect model, with susceptibilities to pain as an indispensable motive power in gaining happiness. We will now recapitulate some of the particulars in the laws and constitution of mind which tend to establish the position that its Creator's grand design is "to produce the greatest possible happiness with the least possible evil." _Intellectual Powers._ First, then, in reference to the earliest exercise of mind in _sensation_. The eye might have been so made that light would inflict pain, and the ear so that sound would cause only discomfort. And so of all the other senses. But the condition of a well-formed, healthy infant is a most striking illustration of the adaptation of the senses to receive enjoyment. Who could gaze on the countenance of such a little one, as its various senses are called into exercise, without such a conviction? The delight manifested as the light attracts the eye, or as pleasant sounds charm the ear, or as the limpid nourishment gratifies its taste, or as gentle motion and soft fondlings soothe the nerves of touch, all testify to the benevolent design of its Maker. Next come the pleasures of _perception_ as the infant gradually observes the qualities of the various objects around, and slowly learns to distinguish its mother and its playthings from the confused mass of forms and colors. Then comes the gentle curiosity as it watches the movement of its own limbs, and finally discovers that its own volitions move its tiny fingers, while the grand idea that _it is itself a cause_ is gradually introduced. Next come the varied intellectual pleasures as the several powers are exercised in connection with the animate and material world around, in acquiring the meaning of words, and in imitating the sounds and use of language. The adult, in toiling over the dry lexicon, little realizes the pleasure with which the little one is daily acquiring the philosophy, grammar, and vocabulary of its mother tongue.