Why is it so important to be able to know the future, or at least something of the future?

Because the man who knows the future cannot be bad.

The bad man is bad because he can always pretend that things will not necessarily be so bad as a consequence of his actions.

If a person has a scheme, or a doctrine, or a set of beliefs of any kind, and he does not know anything about the future, he can easily assume and tell himself that ‘it will work out for the benefit of everyone’.

If he knows the future he will be able to tell whether it will harm anyone – or even everyone.

Ignorance of the future makes man bad.

This is why people have tried so hard to penetrate the future: so that they can act correctly, not just as they imagine might be correct.

This is why so many good people and saints in so many cultures are credited with this power of prescience. They can see what is going to happen. That is why they do not do destructive things. That is why they can do things which are likely to be good.

Knowledge of the future makes man good.