efit my fellow-creatures, I often
asked myself why, in a world teeming with blessings, so much suffering
existed? and why endless riches in the seas, in the air, in the earth,
remained unworked as though they did not exist for the use of man?

At that time the state of civilization and knowledge in Montalluyah was
in many respects not unlike that of the most civilized countries of your
world. The religion of fire had long been replaced by the worship of the
living God, and morality and goodness were respected by most, preached
by many, and practised by a few.

Wars were waged with relentless cruelty by brother against brother, bad
passions ruled, the rich oppressed the poor, and became in turn the
victims of their own excesses, and vice, disease, and misery were
rampant throughout the land.

We had money of various metals and precious stones. The greed to possess
money was the cause of great crimes and loss of power. I asked myself
whether men could not be brought to seek knowledge and goodness as
ardently as they sought money?

I could not then answer the question, but saw that, could this be done,
the boundaries of intelligence being everywhere extended, the discovery
of never-ending fructifying resources would follow, with the means also
of multiplying those already known.

Notwithstanding wars and pestilence, the numbers of our people had
largely increased, whilst our stocks had seriously diminished, and
scarcity and dearth afflicted my world.

The increasing numbers of the population would, I saw, become a means of
plenty, by supplying additional numbers and power to the phalanx of
nature's workmen, each, with redoubled skill fitly applied, joyfully
labouring in his sphere to create abundance and secure the general
well-being.

I applied myself with unwavering perseverance to the study of humanity
and the arts of government, and soon found that like aspirations had
ruled many wise and good men in the different ages of my planet. I
applied myself to the knowledge of their great wisdom and many precepts,
and sought to discover why, notwithstanding the truthfulness and beauty
of the golden lessons of these sages, and the eloquence and persuasion
of their words, corruption and ruin still so largely prevailed.

Not content with meditating on what had been done and written, I
attended the schools, observed the children's ways, and the mode of
educating and rearing the husbandmen of Nature's vineyard. I visited t