to their expression, equally easy of being proved probable.  First, with respect to Power:  given no disturbing cause—­(we shall soon consider the question of permitted evil, and its origin; but this, however disturbing to creatures, will be found not only none to God, but, as it were, only a ray of His glory suffered to be broken for prismatic beauty’s sake, a flash of the direction of His energies suffered to be diverted for the superior triumph of good in that day when it shall be shown that “God hath made all things for himself, yea, even the wicked for the time of visitation")—­with the datum then of no disturbing cause obstructing or opposing, an infinite being must be able to do all things within the sphere of such infinity:  in other phrase, He must be all-powerful.  Just so, an impetus in vacuity suffers no check, but ever sails along among the fleet of worlds; and the innate Impulse of the Deity must expand and energize throughout that infinitude, Himself.  For a like reason of ubiquity, God must know all things:  it is impossible to escape from the strong likelihood that any intelligent being must be conversant of what is going on under his very eye.  Again; in the case both of Power and Knowledge, alike with the coming attributes of Goodness and Wisdom—­(wisdom considered as morally distinct from mere knowledge or awaredness; it being quite possible to conceive a cold eye seeing all things heedlessly, and a clear mind knowing all things heartlessly)—­in the case, I say, of all these accidental attributes, there recurs for argument, one analogous to that by which we showed the anterior probability of a self-existence.  Things positive must precede things negative.  Sight must have been, before blindness is possible; and before we can arrive at a just idea of no sight.  Power must be precursor to an abstraction from power, or weakness.  The minor-existence of ignorance is an impossibility, unless you preallow the major-existence of wisdom; for it amounts to a debasing or a diminution of wisdom.  Sin is well defined to be, the transgression of law; for without law, there can be no sin.  So, also, without wisdom, there can be no ignorance; without power, there can be no weakness; without goodness, there can be no evil.

Furthermore.  An affirmative—­such as wisdom, power, goodness—­can exist absolutely; it is in the nature of a Something:  but a negative—­such as ignorance, weakness, evil—­can only exist relatively; and it would, indeed, be a Nothing, were it not for the previous and now simultaneous existence of its wiser, stronger, and better origin.  Abstract evil is as demonstrably an impossibility as abstract ignorance, or abstract weakness.  If evil could have self-existed, it would in the moment of its eternal birth have demolished itself.  Virtue’s intrinsic concord tends to perpetual being:  vice’s innate discord struggles always with a force towards dissolution.  Goodness, wisdom, power have existences, and have had existences from all eternity, though