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THE IDEAL.
test. Can it, then, be the toys, the books, the family, children, fame and the like, which are known to have afforded pleasure in the past? Surely not, for they are also only so many means to an end, not the end itself. Should one aspire for eminent position, then ? But this, too, does not satisfy the mind, for even the best of beings are not always happy. The case with the millionaire, the poet, the philosopher and the like is also the same ; they cannot be said to enjoy unalloyed happiness in any sense. Similarly, it can be shown with respect to every other occupation and object in the world that it cannot be happiness itself. Shall we, then, turn to the world beyond the grave to see if it will furnish us with a suitable ideal ?
The streams of milk and honey, the shade of beautiful trees, the voluptuous company of bewitching, ravishing houris appeal only to the sensualist; they possess no charm for the sober-minded; neither can they, taken singly or together, constitute happiness. Sorne people think that happiness is to be had in heaven because of the vision of the glory of God which is to be had there. But even this purer conception of the heaven-world implies little or no happiness for the soul, because it involves the idea of dependence on the will and pleasure of another. For, God can mar that happiness by withholding his beatific vision. Besides, the vision of another, even though that other be no other than the Supreme Being himself, cannot confer real happiness on the soul. We find happiness in the idea of our own greatness and power. One finds pleasure in such thoughts as 'I am the king,' 'I am the governor,'
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