Such undiscriminating formulas are either the mere objectification
of a mood, of some unusual period of ecstasy or sorrow, a blind outcry
of thanksgiving or of bitterness, or they are the clumsy expression
of some practical truth, as, the wisdom of acquiescence, and the futility
of preoccupation with evil. But taken seriously and literally such
statements are simply untrue to the facts and blur our fundamental
perceptions. If actually accredited, either would lead to quiescence;
if everything were equally good or evil all striving would be
meaningless, one might as well jump from a housetop or walk into the
fire. But as a matter of fact such mystical assertions are indulged
in only in the inactive moments of life, and mean no more than a lyric
poem or a burst of music. Every one in his practical moments
acknowledges tacitly, at least, the difference between the intrinsic
goodness and badness of experiences. A life of even delight or even
wretchedness, or of colorless indifference, is not inconceivable, but
it is not the lot of any actual human beings.
The larger quarrel between optimists and pessimists need not, for our
purposes, be settled. Life may be a very good thing, on the whole,
or a very bad thing. The only point we need to note is that it is at
any rate a varying thing. Some experiences are more worth having than
others. Moral theory needs no further admission to find its foothold.
Nor do we need to discuss the problem of evil.
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