osophers,
and it is now very difficult to make its falseness understood, but in the
future it will become evident and clear, and the European philosophers
will themselves realize its untruth. For verily it is an evident error.
When man looks at the beings with a penetrating regard, and attentively
examines the condition of existences, and when he sees the state, the
organization, and the perfection of the world, he will be convinced that
in the possible world there is nothing more wonderful than that which
already exists. For all existing beings, terrestrial and celestial, as
well as this limitless space and all that is in it, have been created and
organized, composed, arranged, and perfected as they ought to be; the
universe has no imperfection; so that if all beings became pure
intelligence and reflected for ever and ever, it is impossible that they
could imagine anything better than that which exists.

If, however, the creation in the past had not been adorned with utmost
perfection, then existence would have been imperfect and meaningless, and
in this case creation would have been incomplete. This question needs to
be considered with the greatest attention and thought. For example,
imagine that the world of possibility--that is, the world of
existence--resembles in a general way the body of man. If this composition,
organization, perfection, beauty, and completeness which now exist in the
human body were different, it would be absolute imperfection. Now, if we
imagine a time when man belonged to the animal world, or when he was
merely an animal, we shall find that existence would have been imperfect;
that is to say, there would have been no man, and this chief member, which
in the body of the world is like the brain and mind in man, would have
been missing. The world would then have been quite imperfect. It is thus
proved that if there had been a time when man was in the animal kingdom,
the perfection of existence would have been destroyed; for man is the
greatest member of this world, and if the body was without this chief
member, surely it would be imperfect. We consider man as the greatest
member because, among the creatures, he is the sum of all existing
perfections. When we speak of man, we mean the perfect one, the foremost
individual in the world, who is the sum of spiritual and apparent
perfections, and who is like the sun among the beings. Then imagine that
at one time the sun did not exist, but that it was