614. What is to be understood by natural law?

"The law of nature is the law of God. It is the only rule that ensures the happiness of man, for it shows him what he should or should not do, and he only suffers because he disobeys it."

615. Is the law of God eternal?

"It is eternal and unchangeable as God Himself."

616. Can God have prescribed to mankind in one age what He has forbidden in another?

"God cannot be mistaken. Men are obliged to change their laws, because they are imperfect; but the laws of God are perfect. The harmony which regulates both the material universe and the moral universe is founded on laws established by God from all eternity."

617. What are the objects embraced by the divine laws? Have they reference to anything but our moral conduct?

"All the laws of nature are divine laws, since God is the author of all things. The seeker after science studies the laws of nature in the realm of matter; the seeker after goodness studies them in the soul, and practises them."

– Is it given to man to fathom both these divisions of natural law?

"Yes; but a single existence does not suffice for doing this."

What, indeed, are a few years for acquiring all that is necessary to constitute a perfect being, if we consider only the distance that separates the civilised man from the savage? A human life, though prolonged to its utmost possible length, is insufficient for such a work; much more is it so when cut short before its term, as is the case with so large a proportion of the human race.

Some of the divine laws regulate the movements and relations of inert matter; they are termed physical laws, and their study is the domain of science. Others of these laws concern man, as considered in himself and in his relations to God and to his fellow-creatures; they are termed moral laws, and regulate the life of relation as well as the life of the soul.

618. Are the divine laws the same for all worlds?

"Reason tells you that they must be adapted to the special nature of each of those various worlds, and proportioned to the degree of advancement of the beings who inhabit them."