THE 



PHILOSOPHY 



OF A 



FUTURE STATE 



PART I. 



PROOFS OP A FUTURE STATE. 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE SKetches contained in Parts II. and III. 

 of this work, being chiefly intended to illustrate 

 the connexion of science with the scenes of a 

 future world, and the aids which its discoveries 

 afford, for enabling us to form some conception 

 of the perpetual improvement of its inhabitants 

 in knowledge and felicity I shall endeavour, in 

 this First Part, to exhibit a condensed view of 

 some of those evidences which prove the immor 

 tality of the soul, and the eternal destination of 

 man. 



This is an inquiry far more interesting and 

 important, to every individual of mankind, than 

 any other which comes within the range of the 

 human mind. Next to the being of a God, the 

 doctrine of the immortality of man lies at the 

 foundation of all religion, and of all the animat 

 ing prospects which can cheer us in this land of 

 our pilgrimage. Remove from the mind the be 

 lief of a future existence, and the hope of im- 

 moitality, and religion becomes a shadow, life a 

 dream, and the approach of death a scene of 

 darkness and despair. Upon this short question, 

 ( Is man immortal, or is he not ?&quot; depends all 

 lhat is valuable in science, in morals, and in the 

 ology, and all that is most interesting to man 

 as a social being, and as a rational and account 

 able intelligence. If he is destined to an eternal 

 existence, an immense importance must attach 

 to all his present affections, actions, and pur 

 suits ; and it must be a matter of infinite moment, 

 that they be directed in such a channel, as will 

 tend to carry him forward, in safety, to the feli 

 cities of a future world. But if his whole ex 

 istence be circumscribed within the circle of a 



few fleeting years, man appears an enigma, an 

 inexplicable phenomenon in the universe, human 

 life a mystery, the world a scene of confusion 

 virtue a mere phantom, the Creator a capricious 

 being, and his plans and arrangements an inex 

 tricable maze. 



There is too much reason to believe, that the 

 indifference to religion which so generally pre 

 vails, especially among those who are raised a 

 little above the vulgar throng, and the unhallowed 

 propensities and vicious practices to which it 

 gives rise are owing, in a considerable degree, 

 to the want of a full conviction of the reality of 

 a future existence, or to some doubts which hover 

 about the mind, in relation to this important 

 point. There is no man, however insensible to 

 the obligations of religion, that can fully satisfy 

 his own mind, or the minds of others, that the 

 idea of a future world is a mere chimera. On 

 the contrary, the possibility, and even the pro 

 bability, of the truth of man s eternal destiny, 

 will, at certain seasons, force themselves upon 

 the minds evfti of the most careless and profane. 

 Yet, it is amazing to consider, with what ease and 

 indifference multitudes of this description can 

 glide down the stream of time, under the awful 

 uncertainty whether it will land them in tho 

 shades of annihilation, the realms of bliss, or the 

 regions of endless wo.&quot; Between us and these 

 three periods or states,&quot; says a celebrated French 

 writer, &quot; no barrier is interposed but life, the 

 most brittle thing in all nature ; and the happi 

 ness of heaven being certainly not designed for 

 those who doubt whether they have an immortal 

 part to enjoy it, such persons have nothing left, 



