I said I thought beginnings concerned us no more than ends, that all things, histories, science, knowledge, theories concerned us only in so far as they helped us to understand, as they served the large aim of life and showed us how to go. I made Henry repeat again that the aim of life was complete understanding. I said: “To me it is like a measure by which I measure and value all things.” We tried to measure various things by it, such as the relative advancement of monkeys, birds and ants, and the greatness of Napoleon and Shakespeare. We came to few conclusions, except that the love of man made man lovable, and that Shakespeare must have been a lover of men. Henry said: “I think he worked for his own sake, and not for others.” “Yes,” I answered; “but he loved and understood his fellows, so he could not help serving them in serving himself. It was his joy.” I said if we had that standard of understanding love, we would need no other morality. I quoted from St. Augustine’s Confessions: “Love God, and do as you please.” “But,” I said, “most of us do not love God, or the great good, enough to be able to do as we please without thinking. We still have to stop to measure.” As they were going home, I said: “Next week we will speak of immortality.” “Really, this time?” asked Ruth. “Now, after this meeting,” said Marian, “I am afraid you may tell us, what I have sometimes heard, that we are immortal in the race. Will you?” “No,” I answered, “I will not.” ----- [1] For examples and illustrations I used the first volume of Romanes’ “Darwin and After Darwin” as more convenient and compact than Darwin himself. FIFTH MEETING Henry said: “I told some one lately about our club and what we did, and he thought we spoke of things that were too deep and philosophical.” “Do you think so?” I asked. “No,” he answered, “of course I don’t.” I said: “We are doing something unusual for boys and girls of your age. Most people would think you not able to understand and enjoy it. But I know you do, and you know it.” Marian said: “Why should we not be able to talk of these things in a club, when we certainly do talk of them among ourselves?” I read Henry’s paper: