. All this nonsense of future punishment is now done away.
It is _our_ benevolence which makes us reject your creed; we can no
more believe in a Deity who permits so much evil in the present
world, than one who threatens eternal punishment in the next.

_Trueman._ What! shall mortal man be more merciful than God? Do you
pretend to be more compassionate than that gracious Father who sent
his own Son into the world to die for sinners?

_Fantom._ You take all your notions of the Deity from the vulgar
views your Bible gives you of him. "To be sure I do," said Trueman.
"Can you tell me any way of getting a better notion of him? I do not
want any of your farthing-candle philosophy in the broad sunshine of
the gospel, Mr. Fantom. My Bible tells me that 'God is love;' not
merely loving, but LOVE. Now, do you think a Being, whose very
essence is love, would permit any misery among his children here, if
it was not to be, some way or other, or some where or other, for
their good? You forget, too, that in a world where there is sin,
there must be misery. Then, too, I suppose, God permits this very
misery, partly to exercise the sufferers, and partly to try the
prosperous; for by trouble God corrects some and tries others.
Suppose, now, Tom Saunders had not been put in prison, you and
I--no, I beg pardon, _you_ saved your guinea; well, then, our club
and I could not have shown our kindness in getting him out; nor
would poor Saunders himself have had an opportunity of exercising
his own patience and submission under want and imprisonment. So you
see one reason why God permits misery is, that good men may have an
opportunity of lessening it." Mr. Fantom replied, "There is no
object which I have more at heart; I have, as I told you, a plan in
my head of such universal benevolence as to include the happiness of
all mankind." "Mr. Fantom," said Trueman, "I feel that I have a
general good will to all my brethren of mankind; and if I had as
much money in my purse as love in my heart, I trust I should prove
it. All I say is, that, in a station of life where I can not do
much, I am more called upon to procure the happiness of a poor
neighbor, who has no one else to look to, than to form wild plans
for the good of mankind, too extensive to be accomplished, and too
chimerical to be put in practice. It is the height of folly for a
little ignorant tradesman to distract himself with projecting
schemes which require the wisdom of scholars, the e