CHAPTER IX.
THORWALD AS A PROPHET.
As maybe supposed, the doctor and I were anxious to hear more aboutMars, and it was not long before we were all seated together again, whenThorwald resumed his instructive talk.
"What further can I tell you of our condition and achievements? Everyscience has made mighty progress in bestowing its own benefit upon us.New arts have been discovered in the course of our development, aboutwhich you would understand nothing. The aim and result of all sciencehave been to add to our comfort and happiness--our true happiness, whichconsists in improvement and the constant uplifting of character. Theevils that once vexed our world, both those occasioned by naturalphenomena and those brought about by our own ignorance and sin, have, asyou have heard, almost completely disappeared. Even mental troubles aregone, and no corroding care destroys our peace, for there is nothingfor us to dread; no dark future, filled with unknown evils, awaits ourunwilling feet, and no superstitious or unnatural fear disturbs thepeaceful quiet of our sleep."
"And are we to understand, Thorwald," I asked, "that you believe allthis rest from trouble and wrongdoing is coming to the earth, too?"
"Before replying directly to your question," answered Thorwald, "letme ask you if there is any tendency in that direction. Look back tothe earliest days of your history and compare the state of things thenexisting with that of your own times. Has your world made any progress?Is there any less violence? Are men learning to live without fighting?Are the dark corners of the earth coming to the light?"
"In these and many other directions," I answered, "I think we can seeimprovement."
"Then," continued Thorwald, "it seems to me you must believe with methat your world will one day come to the condition in which you find us.Have not your holy prophets foretold a time of universal peace both forman and beast, a time when a higher law than selfishness shall governall hearts and the earth be filled with the spirit of love?"
"They have," I replied, "but most of us are so engrossed in the strugglefor existence that we think lightly or not at all of such things.These prophecies have never impressed me as they do now when I see yourcondition, and reflect that similar words may have been spoken and thenfulfilled here."
"Let me assure you," Thorwald made haste to say, "that the earth isstill young. I can see by all you say that your age is one of unusualvitality and progress. A firm faith that victory will come and thatthe golden age is before you will be a great help in your struggle withevil. Lay hold of that faith. It is yours. It needs no prophet to tellyou that your race will one day reach our blessed state. First willcome the spirit of peace, and as I am sure war must be repugnant to suchminds as yours, you will readily learn to put it away from you. Thenwill begin to cease all bitterness between man and man, and you will bestarted on the road that leads to brotherly kindness. A world of sorrowswill fall away with the passing of individual and national strife, notonly the horror of the battlefield and the misery that follows it, butalso the more secret and world-wide unhappiness that comes from thepetty conflicts over the so-called rights of person and property.Selfishness, that monstrous source of evil, must be dethroned, and thenthe rights of each will be cared for by all. This will usher in for youa new era.
"And now, when the mighty energy that has been expended in learning andpracticing the science of war, the skill that has been given to the artof killing, the treasures of money and blood, the time, the brainand the activities that have been employed in carrying out plans ofaggression, large and small, of neighbor against neighbor--when thesehave all been turned toward the betterment of your condition and thesalvation of men from degradation and sin, then will the arts of peaceflourish and your day begin. Then will nature herself come to yourassistance, molding her laws to your convenience and comfort. It willdoubtless be a long time before a man can love and consider his neighboras himself, and before all of God's creatures on your planet can dwelltogether in perfect peace, but, believe me, the earth will live to seethat time."
"Thorwald," spoke the doctor, "your words are so inspiring that I almostwish my life could have waited some thousands of years for that brightday you so confidently promise for the earth, but I cannot help askingmyself if it is altogether a misfortune to live in the midst of theconflict, with something ahead to strive for. Will you pardon mypresumption if I ask you practically the same question? You have told usof your wonderful history and that you have now reached a condition ofpeace and quiet. With no sickness or sorrow in your lives, with no evilpassions to rise and throw you, with nothing to fear from without orwithin, yours must be a blissful condition. But still, is there alwayscontent? In our imperfect state we are striving and learning. Ourhappiness largely consists in the pursuit of happiness. If, some day,we should find all difficulties removed, no obstacles left to contendagainst, no evil in ourselves or others to overcome, not even our bodilywants to provide for, it seems to me life would lose its zest and becomea burden hardly worth the carrying. Can you remove this unhandsomedoubt?"
"I will try," answered Thorwald. "I suppose if the people of theearth, with their present capacities and aspirations, should be broughtsuddenly to such a state of civilization as ours, it would be as yousay. As your development continues, your minds and souls will expand andyou will be prepared to take up new duties and occupations as theycome. I cannot tell you what these are, for at present you would notunderstand me. You mistake if you think we have ceased to learn. Themind is ever reaching forward to new attainments, and the things whichchiefly occupy us now would have been beyond our comprehension in ourearlier days. Can you not find an illustration on the earth? Supposethe untutored savage were suddenly required to throw away his spear andarrow and engage in your pursuits, Doctor. Would he be happy? Yourmind is full of thoughts that he cannot grasp, your life is made up ofexperiences and aspirations of which he has no conception. You can seeyour superiority to the savage. Let me help you to look forward and seeyour inferiority to the coming man, who, I assure you, will never tireof life while anything that God has made remains to be studied. Asthe mind expands, new wonders and new beauties in creation will unfoldthemselves and your race will learn to look back with pity upon yourpresent age, with its mean and trivial occupations."
"But, Thorwald," I asked, "can you not tell us something of these higherpursuits?"
"But very little," he answered. "I might give you one or two hintsof some things which I think lie nearest you, if indeed you have notalready begun to consider them. I need hardly speak of astronomy, which,from the nature of the case, is the earliest of all sciences whereverthere is intelligent life to view the works of creation. You will findgreat profit in advancing in this study as rapidly as possible. We havenot yet ceased to pursue it, and I think it is one branch of knowledgewhich will never be exhausted, in the present life at least. Ourachievements in astronomy have been marvelous.
"Do not neglect to look in the other direction also for evidences ofGod's power and wisdom. The microscope will almost keep pace with thetelescope in revealing the wonders of creation. It will greatly assistyou in many of your higher employments.
"One thing that you will doubtless soon undertake is the study of thespeech of animals, which will go hand in hand with the development oftheir intelligence. Both of these will claim much attention, but veryinadequate results will be obtained until after you have tamed anddomesticated the various species. You will want to discover how faranimals can be educated and whether their intelligence can ever bedeveloped into mind. As you progress in this study you will feel thenecessity of understanding their conversation and you will learn whatyou can of their language. These tasks will seem of more importance toyou when the lower animals are all reclaimed and become the companionsand friends of man. You will try to discover the particular purpose forwhich each species was created, and you will even be led to inquire, bya long series of experiments, whether they possess the faintest shadowof moral perceptions.
"Then there is the great subject of plant life. D
oes the sensitivenessof plants ever amount to sensibility or feeling? If so, is it a feelingyou are bound to respect? That is, should a wounded and bleeding treeexcite in you even the slightest shade of that sympathy you feel witha distressed animal? These are inquiries which you doubtless think oflittle moment now, but we have spent many years pursuing them.
"These are only a few faint indications of the multitude of questionswhich lie before you for study. In every investigation which you follow,whether connected with the mysteries of your own complex being or withthe unexplored depths of creation around you, a chief source of interestwill be the constant discovery of a perfect adaptation in the worksof God. Of course you know something of it already, but you will nevercease to wonder at the unfolding of this truth, as you come to realizemore and more fully that creation is one, and is moved and ruled by oneintelligence.
"Oh, do not imagine that in the ages to come there will be nothingto make life interesting. As your civilization advances and you arereleased gradually from trouble and care, and from those petty affairswhich now so occupy you, your minds and souls will grow, and you willsee far more ahead of you worth striving for than you now do. Yourhappiness can still consist largely in the pursuit of happiness."