St Ignatius College - Ignatian Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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12 IGNATIAN the level of the brute and tend to degrade him. They cannot be man's last end or give him happiness, for happiness can only be found in making himself more nearly perfect. The pursuit and acquisition of scientific knowledge cannot make man happy for his ability is limited and science is finite. Virtue and its practice cannot be man's last end, for virtue is but a means to perfection. All these taken together will not bring perfect happiness, for they are all finite and our happiness, to- be perfect, must endure forever. We can say then, that such happiness is not attainable in this life. Of course, as we have seen, some do reach and all can reach the condition called content. We feel that all of our desires cannot be satisfied and so endeavor to put them aside and make the best of what we have. It must be admitted that we can attain to an imperfect happiness in this life. This state can be and often is reached, but it is not all that is desired nor can it be said to be our last end. It is sometimes charged that man is unreasonable in this desire, that he ought to have moderation in his desires of happiness as in everything else and hence the happiness attainable here should be enough. The falsity of this is apparent. No one will contend that the sick man is un- reasonable in his desire for boundless health. In fact, if someone told us that he only Wanted a moderate amount of health, we would seriously doubt his sanity. If it is not unreasonable for a man to desire perfection in a material good, how can it be unreasonable for him to want perfect immaterial good? This desire is implanted in man, like the seeking after material good, it is part of his nature, an attri- bute ever present demanding satisfaction, never ceasing in its yearning until it attains fulfilment. Since perfect happiness cannot be found here, it must be found hereafter. In the future life we are sure of eternal duration at least. Having this much, We need now only look for an object in the possession of which we will be perfectly

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WHITHERWARD ll when a hundred years are gone by.', So it is with all of usg the thought that we cannot continue to enjoy the good We possess eternally is sufficient to render us dissatisfied and unhappy. How often does the thought it is too good to last cast its shadow over our happiest moments! We can now define the natural desire for happiness as the longing for that state or condition of soul in which all good is present, all evil absent, and there is also present the assurance that the state will continue forever. As we know of this desire, our next consideration must be whether or not it is possible to attain it. A little consideration will show us that every one of our sensuous appetitive faculties can be satisfied fully and completely. The desire for happiness also arises from a faculty, though it is of a higher order than the others. It is but reasonable to state that since there is satisfaction for our sensuous appetities, there must also be satisfaction for our rational appetite. If not, then we can only conclude that man's higher faculties are a mockery and man is really no higher in the hierarchy of being than the animal. It is sometimes said that many do not attain happinessg this is true, but the fact that some do not attain it does not prove that they cannot attain happiness. Hence we can pos- itively state that man can satisfy his desire for happiness. Our next consideration must be where man can find happiness. Will he attain it here or hereafter? Let us consider the present life first. Is there anything in this world capable of satisfying all our desires and thus making us perfectly happy? Wealth is sought by many, but wealth is not the end of our searchg it can only be considered a means to an end. Praise of our fellow-men for what we have done fails to satisfy our desiresg we want more than praise and the accompanying esteem. Furthermore these are not attainable by all of us and so cannot be man's last end. If we turn to sensual pleasures, we find they lower man to

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WHITHERWARD 13 happy. The possession spoken of is not material possession but rather the possession of the object by the soul. We must find some object which is in itself infinite goodness and truth, for we can only find complete satisfaction of the desires of our higher faculties in such a being. And such a being will be the being toward which man tends as his last end. There is only one such being in all the universe. That being is God, Who is infinitely perfect in all things and incapable of any trace of evil. In Him alone will man find the satisfaction of all his desires: that happiness and peace which he is always seeking. Man's happiness will be found in the knowledge and contemplation of his Creator's per- fections, that is in the exercise of his highest faculties in the highest possible manner. Hence the conclusion forces itself upon us, that the object toward which man tends as his last end is God, and that happiness consists in the pos- session of God. For it is only then that man will reach his greatest perfection in the unlimited use of his highest fac- ulties. When we are inquiring into man's last end, this con- clusion is the only reasonable one. Look as far as we may, read what books we choose, or listen to what theories we can, the only answer we can give, and feel confident in the giving, when asked: Why are you here? is the old- fashioned, true one learned by all of us when scarcely able to pronounce the words: God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next. W. F. M ahoney.