The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-07-21
The Problem of life.
" American Tin New York Mercur

The Problem of life. American " in New York Mercury.
 The course of human though, resernb les the storm upon the sea. App4s- entiy moving Tn straight line, i; reali, sweeps round and round in eddying ci eles. At present, as at some former pen ods of history, the wind sets from the quarter of science. The material woric ] Is the great object of study. and it's physics and chemism are applied to solve the great questions ofspeculative philosophy A noticeably able article of this kind re gently appeared in a scientific publication :, from the pen of Mir. John Pratt, in which the writer discusses the "Coss of Life from an ingeniously argued theory of the individuality of the planet composing oci solar system. Mir. Pratt holds that the earth we inhabit furnishes the onl, assurance ot the higher forms of life that while the duration of highly civilized life is but of yesterday. 1t has requi:ea space so vast that 1t Is a tedious lout- ney for life 10 traverse, and a lapse ci time so great that a snail might have made the circui, with ease in the mornins of it. to give birth 10 one Shakespeare All this space, all this time and all ,h. immortal energy have barely sutficed ,o develop few organisms capable of l sEmmering comprehension of the force which have evolved them" And the writer argues tha, | the accepted iheor.es of light. hea, and gravitaiion be true " all the rest Is waste space. waste matte waste energy. Life Is far more costly l. ear solar system than diamonds in the earth.
 lfthis reasoning be rational. one woa.i naturally infer that. being so spar.ng.s distributed. life would be m anifes;ei n intelligent organism as a thing of price less value. and that eonten, and hapoi- ness should characterize II instead of pro . found dscontent and discourageme The greatest perpiexiiy in contempla,ins the problem of life perhaps arises tror. seeing of how little account is the indi- vidual. and wha, small pity or provision Nature seems 10 have made for his suffer ings. It seems such world of caprice Think of the difference of suffering. f1, example, endured by the man or woman who had to undergo severe opera,iou twenty years ago from that which any person having to undergo similar opera ton suffers now. And ye, the former sufferer nigh, have been lust as good os t better man than the present one
 Think for moment of the treatment of feves and smallpox cases in past times ci what replted witches and wizards nas; have suffered: and of the tornenis tha, so-called here,ics endured. Nor Is there any need to contrast the present with the past. Nowadays there Is ust the same horrible inequality in the fortunes Of ia- dividuals. The splendid favori,ism of the world IS trite topic. This man may leap over ditch when he ough, to have kept the other side Of it; he may run h. stead of walk. when walking is the prope, thing: he may be even oaugh, Tn hls neishoors orchard manching forbid den fru.; "-speaking me,aphor.cal,y- ye; the world declines 10 see ,ha, he ia. done wrong. l. puts it's telescope ,o i.s ollnd eye, because he Is favorlte The ore man Is a pc, of fortune. and the other victim, wiihou, any apparea. reason.
 There Is the same perplexing problem
 in the lower creation. Think of the dit ference between the conditions of ;a- Arabian horse-the pc, of the family. in old age never iil-trea,ed-and of the horse that comes under the tender mercie, et the vivisecting veterinarian. Reflect or the fate of the butterfly that is pinned }, collector and of the beautiful inse. which finishes its existence in it's ows happy butterfly manner. Contrast the doom of the cat which Is the loin, pro. per,y of three schooi-boys and O. the iab5y which is the darling pc, of one elderly lady. There is certainly con siderable difference in the conditions ot men. animals. birds and insects which does no, by any means result from ,he own peculiar qualities or merits. Niewel iron. this standpoint. with such an exceed ingly parsimonious distribution of life n such an immensity ot space IS Mir. pra: pictures. t Is not surprising tha, ,he scientists of our day. almos; 10 mar hoid.:hat the creature caano; know any thing abou; the Crel,or. and tha: .h- former can have no power of free mora action. 0
 The only ray of comfort seems ,o COZ sis; in belief ard hope tha, there Is " solidarity oi interest. as the Freacs express |, throughout the universe. We know s little of what Is usually ,errle the Divine government tha, we ma, no: unreasonably indulge ourselves !. such hope and belief. And then thes. martyrs-,ha, noble army of martyrs to use the grand phrase of the commo prayer-may have some rewards for ,he trials and tribulations. the lamen,a.ioa the mourning. and the woe they havs experienced.
 I, is said that the number of worn.-