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108
JANISM UND WORLD PROBLEMS
There remains only to consider the argument that humanity will be devoured up by animals unless they are eaten up. Now, the argument is actually devoid of any merit whatsoever in reality. Suppose, we are afraid that the Turks will conquer and enslave Christians unless checked : would you in this case go so far as to say that the Turks should be eaten up to prevent their killing and enslaving Christians ? If not, why think of it in the case of an undesirable increase of animals ? The obvious solution of the difficulty would be, should it ever present itself in an acute form for solution, that the king, whose cluty it is to protect his subjects, would take proper steps to exterminate the danger from the animals, just as he would if his kingdom were threatened by a body of Turks or any one else. To fight in self-defence is not prohibited in the case of the layman; it is even enjoined on those whose duty it is to protect the religion, the life and property of themselves and others. It will be for the government to take steps for the destruction, but not for the clevouring, oi the animals who threatened to swamp out humanity from the face of the earth. If the king or the governinent ordered the killing of animals so that they might be eaten by men, they will be earning great demerit for themselves and their followers ; but not if they killed and destroyed the animals that really threatened human life.
1 ought to mention, however, that the supposition that the animals will ever become too numerous and destroy the human species is not based on lacts. There is no such case on record anywhere in the history of the whole world. On the contrary, India has been, or at least had been before the advent of the Mussalman folk, almost wholly vegetarian in regard to diet and bumanitarian in regard to principle, but beyond slight clestruction of human life, from wild beasts, which is quite negligible under the circumstances, no community or body of men was ever exterminated by the animals. As compared with the uumber of accidents from
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