"Then am I to understand that your people were Atheists?" inquired I of
Arletta.
"Not at all," replied she. "We believed in Natural Law but not in
religion. Our most intellectual men decided that by no stretch of the
imagination could they build a god for religious purposes as great as
the Creator of the universe must naturally be, and knowing that it
remains for man himself to reach his highest state of perfection without
any supernatural influence whatsoever, they therefore abolished all
forms of religious worship and established a code of ethics which was
termed Natural Law.
"Religion teaches one to believe in an unnatural god who apparently must
be ever ready to answer anybody's prayerful cry and act as a general
servant to humanity by distributing good things to those who beg for
them; a sort of meddlesome god who enters into all the petty quarrels of
hunan beings and generally settles them in the wrong way.
"Natural Law teaches that there exists on grand supreme ruler who guides
the entire machinery of the universe; the Deity who created the
principle of life, and one who does not deviate from His eternal and
immutable laws; an all-wise, everlasting and unchangeable being far
beyond the faintest conception the brain of man has ever been able to
formulate. His power unlimited; His laws supreme; His goodness
incalculable.
"Natural Law explains that He created the principle from which humanity
evolved, but that it remains for all living things to make better or
worse their own conditions. His laws may be studied and practiced by all
human beings, but to claim to know the reasons of the Creator's actions
would be to assume His wisdom and knowledge. His purposes, therefore,
are unfathomable.
"Natural Law sets forth that notwithstanding the earth is but a mere
speck in the universe, still, it being a part of the vast machinery
governed by the Almighty, there is a reason for its existence and a work
for it to perform. Like other bodies in space, it contains particles of
living matter which are constantly passing through a course of
development with methodical changes from life to death and from death to
life. But while all living things live and die, the material thereof is
used over and over again indefinitely. Human beings are a species of
these particles. All living things are composed of three parts, matter,
energy and soul. The matter is the machinery; energy the motion and soul
the engineer. The mind is that part of the machinery having power to
control its movements. The soul is the spark of life and acts as a moral
guide to the mind. Soul and conscience are synonymous. The soul, always
pure, is continually striving to improve the condition of the mind. The
mind alone is responsible for the disposition of the body and the evils
arising therefrom, the soul merely acting as its instructor for good. It
is the mind which inherits evil instincts and but for the good influence
of the soul, living creatures would not exist in harmony. As the mind
hardens against righteousness the sway of the soul is lessened, but as
the mind softens towards goodness the soul increases its power. There is
a continual struggle between the soul for good and the mind for evil,
but the soul will eventually gain the ascendancy and all living things
will be cleansed of impurities.
"The body, including the mind, of each living thing dies, the material
disintegrates and passes into the composition of other forms. The soul
never dies; it remains in one body until its collapse and then
transmigrates into another. The soul of man today may be that of a lower
animal tomorrow; therefore he should use the greatest kindness and
consideration toward all living things. There is only a certain quantity
of matter upon earth to be moulded together in living forms and a
certain number of souls to abide therein, so that with the increase of
mankind there must naturally be a decrease in the ranks of other
animals, hence it remains the duty of man to extend in number and
quality his own species until all the material in existence is utilized
by human beings of the very highest intelligence. Humanity, however,
will never rise above the savage state until the barbarous custom of
killing and eating other animals is abolished.
"Selfishness is the root of all evil; eradicate selfishness from
humanity and the earth will be heaven.
"Man's heaven is here on earth if he is only capable of making it so,
but men cannot enjoy heavenly blessings with hellish minds, and no
selfish being can properly enjoy the sweets of life. The real essence
and pleasure of life can only be extracted when mankind labors
harmoniously together as a unit, instead of each individual struggling
separately and murderously to obtain the largest portion of the earth's
blessings. The production of the world must be divided equally among all
honest toilers and man's greatest happiness must arise from serving
others instead of himself. No good mortal can thoroughly enjoy luxuries
that are beyond the reach of his fellow men, therefore all human beings
should work together as one; enjoying equally the fruits of their
combined efforts; the weak and the strong alike. There must be but one
master--the entire human race bound together as one. When mankind,
acting as a unit, masters itself, then will it rule the earth and gain
knowledge of extraneous matters; thus the wisdom of inhabitants of older
and more advanced worlds will be attained and intercourse with them
practiced, thereby unraveling many apparent mysteries of the universe.
"It is an error to suppose that the Deity is your maker; He created the
source from which all living things sprung, but collectively, man makes
himself and is responsible for his own conditions. If the Almighty was
your maker then the production of criminals, cripples and lunatics would
demonstrate very bad workmanship, so do not try to shift the blame for
human weakness upon the Creator of the universe. The Deity controls the
principle of life; man controls himself.
"Do not pray; you cannot alter the Creator's plans and you place him in
the light of a petty vanity seeker when claiming that he wants to be
worshipped. Better please the Omnipotent by kind acts toward all living
creatures than by offering ridiculous exhortations for favors and
forgiveness. You proffer insults to the Creator when you claim you can
change His immutable plans by prayer; when you think he would take from
one and give to another; when you pretend to communicate with Him; when
you imagine He takes part in the silly squabbles of human beings; when
you say that man was made in His image; when you take His name in vain.
"A united world, with all living things on the same plane of perfection
and working harmoniously together for the common good is the heaven
humanity should strive to reach. It is within the power of mankind to
perfect itself, but this can only be accomplished through the unselfish
efforts of the whole people. Each individual can make better or worse
his own condition and thereby stamp a good or bad impression upon the
lives of his descendants. The creature who passes his life without
adding to the knowledge and goodness of the world has lived for naught,
and he who fails to improve his own worth morally, mentally or
physically has spent a life of uselessness for which his descendants
must suffer; for to misuse oneself is to commit a crime against
posterity. Each generation should be an improvement upon the preceding
one. Having been entrusted with a piece of living machinery, it is the
duty of everyone to give it the very best care and attention possible,
that its value might be increased to nature, hence moral, mental and
physical perfection are the highest aims of life to achieve. Parents
should have no off-spring when one or both of them are insane, diseased,
gluttons, drunkards or criminals.
"Practice moderation in all things that you may live longer and acquire
strength to enjoy natural blessings and bestow character upon those to
follow. Pleasure can only be extracted from temperateness; it increases
or decreases in proportion to quantity, and he who takes sparingly,
lives longer to enjoy the most. Do not over-work, over-study, over-eat,
over-drink, over-sleep, or commit any excess whatsoever. The surest way
to make the world better is to begin with yourself. Such is the essence
of Natural Law."