But the greatest consolation of the Rationalist is in this, that he is not under obligation to distort his intellect and twist his affections out of joint in order to justify God's way to man. No sooner a disaster is announced than the clergy begin to concoct excuses for this seeming neglect of Providence. God meant to punish human carelessness; he was angry with the present generation for its unbelief; he wished to speak in tones loud enough to be heard the world over, he was trying to make us more careful in the future, he wished to demonstrate that all human devices and inventions are futile unless "the Lord protect" the ship, the house or the city; and finally, that we do not understand God, for "he moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform," though we know he does everything for the best. Is it not a welcome relief that the Rationalist can bear his great sorrow without resorting to commonplace sophistries of this nature? Not taxed with the burden of vindicating Providence, the Rationalist devotes his energies to the fruitful work of developing his resources against the fortuitous elements at play about him. Only a moment's reflection will prove the futility of all attempts to establish a relation of some kind between God and the world's life. `````_God's in His Heaven, ````All's right with the World!_= is Browning's creed in his _Pippa Passes._ The verse in which the lines occur is, no doubt, excellent poetry, but what about its philosophy? ````"_The lark's on the wing; ````The snail's on the thorn; ````God's in His Heaven- ````All's right with the world!"_=