iple, of all things.

"But if He is so great, Padre, and knows everything, I don't see why
He made the devil," continued Rosendo; "for the devil fights against
Him all the time."

Ah, simple-hearted child of nature! A mind so pure as yours should
give no heed to thoughts of Satan. And the man at your side is now too
deeply buried in the channels which run below the superficiality of
the world's thought to hear your childish question. Wait. The cause of
an infinite effect must itself be infinite. The framer of infinite
laws must be an infinite mind. And an infinite mind must contain all
knowledge, and have all power. But were it to contain any seeds or
germs of decay, or any elements of discord--in a word, any evil--it
must disintegrate. Then it would cease to be omnipotent. Verily, to be
eternal and perfect _it must be wholly good_! "And so," the priest
mused aloud, "we call it God."

But, he continued to reflect, when we accept the conclusion that the
universe is the product of an infinite mind, we are driven to certain
other inevitable conclusions, if we would be logical. The minds of men
manifest themselves continually, and the manifestation is in mental
processes and things. Mental activity results in the unfolding of
ideas. Does the activity of an infinite mind differ in this respect?
And, if not, can the universe be other than a mental thing? For, if an
infinite mind created a universe, it must have done so _by the
unfolding of its own ideas_! And, remaining infinite, filling all
space, this mind must ever continue to contain those ideas. And the
universe--the creation--is mental.

The burden of thought oppressed the priest, and he got up from his
chair and paced back and forth before the house. But still his
searching mind burrowed incessantly, as if it would unearth a living
thing that had been buried since the beginning.

In order to fully express itself, an infinite mind would have to
unfold an infinite number and variety of ideas. And this unfolding
would go on forever, since an infinite number is never reached. This
is "creation," and it could never terminate.

"Rosendo," said Jose, returning to his chair, "you have asked what
God looks like. I cannot say, for God must be mind, unlimited mind. He
has all knowledge and wisdom, as well as all power. He is necessarily
eternal--has always existed, and always will, for He is entirely
perfect and harmonious, without the slightest trace or taint of
discord