Each ascending class of beings begins, in its highest specimens, to assume the characteristics of the class next above it; and so might serve, if need were, to indicate the peculiarities of the next higher group of creatures. Man, the last and most perfect in the line of material beings, is much more than mere matter. There is in him a higher element, not compounded of chemical substances or the subtle forces of matter. This enjoys faculties not belonging to other beings intellect and will; it has an apprehension of moral goodness, of the true, of the beautiful; it has cravings, sometimes half unconscious, for something higher than this universe and more enduring. Above all there is in mankind an ineradicable tendency towards the supernatural, towards God and religion; and this is forever asserting itself in various forms as one of the most energetic forces in human nature. All this is an indication of an actual higher state; for no impulsion exists in the universe without its corresponding object or cause. It is further an indication of a higher class of beings, endowed with more perfect spirituality, less encumbered by matter, more free in the exercise of mind and will, standing nearer to the throne of the Almighty Ruler. Progress is the law of being. Every thing points upward through a higher class to God. Cultivate, not those appetites which you share with the beasts, but those aspirations which raise you towards the angels. Continue Reading.
