THE DISASTER IN PARIS.
THZ EDITOR Or THE "SPECTATOR."] Sin,—The immediate cause of the terrible disaster at Paris suggests an explanation of catastrophes which are far more trying to our faith in a beneficent Providence,—the deluges and earthquakes which destroy thousands of lives. The penalty for reckless handling of dangerous elements needs no justification; but what is to be said about the meaning of the great natural convulsions, for which men are in no way responsible, but by which they suffer so fearfully P An eminent thinker of the last century used to say that the Great Earthquake of Lisbon made him an atheist.
The scientific toy which caused the death of more than a hundred people the other day is a trivial illustration of a most serious fact,—the increasing mastery which man is gaining over the powers of Nature. Things which were wholly unknown to our fathers are now part of our daily life, and vastly increase its comfort. For them, as for all other advantages, we have to pay. The dip-candle, to use a humble illustration, was dearer than paraffin, and not a tenth part so efficient, but it was safer.
Now, these natural forces which man thus conquers and utilises are, in other manifestations, unconquerable. The dangers with which they threaten mankind are inevitable. But though they are dangerous they are essential to man's existence. The world would not be habitable without them. The deluge, the tornado, the eruption, the earthquake, are the excess of powers which, in the moderation of their usual working, contribute to make the earth a fit dwelling-place for man.
Briefly, then, the argument is this. We accept the benefits with which civilisation enriches our life, while we recognise the liabilities under which they put us. As to the essential conditions of human life, there is no question of accepting or refusing. But we are bound to acknowledge that they are essential, and we have no right to arraign the order of which they are a part. If life is a good thing, we are bound to submit without repining even to the most terrible manifestations of the powers which make it possible. —I am, Sir, &c.,
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