And think what man has done to please the gods. He has renounced his reason--extinguished the torch of his brain, he has believed without evidence and against evidence. He has slandered and maligned himself. He has fasted and starved. He has mutilated his body--scarred his flesh--given his blood to vermin. He has persecuted, imprisoned and destroyed his fellows. He has deserted wife and child. He has lived alone in the desert. He has swung-censers and burned incense, counted beads and sprinkled himself with holy water--shut his eyes, clasped his hands--fallen upon his knees and groveled in the dust--but the gods have been silent--silent as stones. Have these cringings and crawlings--these cruelties and absurdities--this faith and foolishness pleased the gods? We do not know. Has any disaster been averted--any blessing obtained? We do not know. Shall we thank these gods? Shall we thank the church's God? Who and what is he? They say that he is the creator and preserver of all that has been--of all that is--of all that will be--that he is the father of angels and devils, the architect of heaven and hell--that he made the earth--a man and woman--that he made the serpent who tempted them, made his own rival--gave victory to his enemy--that he repented of what he had done--that he sent a flood and destroyed all of the children of men with the exception of eight persons--that he tried to civilize the survivors and their children--tried to do this with earthquakes and fiery serpents --with pestilence and famine. But he failed. He intended to fail. Then he was born into the world, preached for three years, and allowed some savages to kill him. Then he rose from the dead and went back to heaven. He knew that he would fail, knew that he would be killed. In fact he arranged everything himself and brought everything to pass just as he had predestined it an eternity before the world was. All who believe these things will be saved and they who doubt or deny will be lost. Has this God good sense? Not always. He creates his own enemies and plots against himself. Nothing lives, except in accordance with his will, and yet the devils do not die. What is the matter with this God? Well, sometimes he is foolish--sometimes he is cruel and sometimes he is insane. Does this God exist? Is there any intelligence back of Nature? Is there any being anywhere among the stars who pities the suffering children of men? We do not know. Shall we thank Nature? Does Nature care for us more than for leaves, or grass, or flies? Does Nature know that we exist? We do not know. But we do know that Nature is going to murder us all. Why should we thank Nature? If we thank God or Nature for the sunshine and rain, for health and happiness, whom shall we curse for famine and pestilence, for earthquake and cyclone--for disease and death? III.