Men pursue pleasure as
eagerly as they avoid pain; at least they might have been so
constituted. It seems, therefore, plainly possible to carry on
the business of life without any pain. Why then is any animal
ever rendered susceptible of such a sensation? If animals can be
free from it an hour, they might enjoy a perpetual exemption from
it; and it required as particular a contrivance of their organs
to produce that feeling, as to endow them with sight, hearing, or
any of the senses. Shall we conjecture, that such a contrivance
was necessary, without any appearance of reason? and shall we
build on that conjecture as on the most certain truth?
But a capacity of pain would not alone produce pain, were it
not for the second circumstance, viz. the conducting of the world
by general laws; and this seems nowise necessary to a very
perfect Being. It is true, if everything were conducted by
particular volitions, the course of nature would be perpetually
broken, and no man could employ his reason in the conduct of
life. But might not other particular volitions remedy this
inconvenience? In short, might not the Deity exterminate all ill,
wherever it were to be found; and produce all good, without any
preparation, or long progress of causes and effects?
Besides, we must consider, that, according to the present
economy of the world, the course of nature, though supposed
exactly regular, yet to us appears not so, and many events are
uncertain, and many disappoint our expectations.
Pages:
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141