Again, our minds come into existence in a _social_ _system_ so constituted that the rewards and penalties of law extend, not merely to the good and evil doer, but to those connected with him. Thus each mind is made dependent for happiness on the well-doing of those around almost as much as on its own obedience to law. The penalties for the sins of parents fall on their children, and the sins of children are visited on their parents, and thus in all the other relations of life. Equally so are the rewards of obedience shared by all who are connected with the well-doer. Thus it appears that in this life _happiness_ is the joint product of the obedience of each individual and the obedience of all connected with him to the laws of the vast system in which we are placed. Again, each mind comes into this system of law in perfect ignorance of the right and wrong courses to be pursued. At the commencement of being there has been no knowledge of good or of evil to call forth desire or fear, while the only conceivable way in which such a being can be taught law, and its penalties and rewards, is by _experience_. Good must be tasted before the desire for it can come, and evil must be felt before the fear of it can arise. After there has been some experience of pleasure and pain, and such advance in knowledge as that others around can teach the new-comer what are the right and wrong courses, then _faith_ or _belief_ becomes the leading mode of safety. From this time happiness or suffering will be proportioned to the _truth_ of the instructions given, to the _faith_ accorded, and to the _obedience_ rendered. In this complicated system of law, it is found that the great Author of all is never moved to modify or suspend the penalties of wrong-doing by commiseration for the inevitable ignorance of inexperienced beings, nor by pity when wrong instructions are given, nor by sympathy for the pain inflicted. _Obedience_, exact, constant, persevering--this is the only mode of securing the enjoyment and escaping the pain that are the sanctions of law. And not only so, but it is often the case that disobedience to some law in only one instance will destroy the comfort and usefulness of a whole life. Nay, more, the neglect or the mistake of a parent sometimes will bring the penalty of violated law on some innocent child, whose whole life will thus be made miserable. Again, it is found that the sources of enjoyment are of different relative value. In the commencement of existence pleasure is secured mainly through the senses. Next come the higher social and domestic pleasures; then follow the intellectual enjoyments, the various gratifications of taste, and all the multitudinous resources open to a highly-cultivated, virtuous, and religious man. The greater the number of these sources, and the more elevated the nature of each, the greater the degree of happiness gained.