THE PHILOSOPHY OF A FUTURE STATE. 



cise of the intellectual powers on those objects 

 which are congenial to the ardent desires, and 

 the noble faculties of the human soul. The 

 greater part of mankind, in the present circum 

 stances of their terrestrial existence, have their 

 time and attention almost wholly absorbed in 

 counteracting the evils incident, to their present 

 condition, and in making provision for the wants 

 of their animal natures ; and, consequently, the 

 full gratification of the appetite for knowledge, 

 is an absolute impossibility, amidst the pursuits 

 and the turmoils connected with the present scene 

 of things. If we likewise consider the difficulty 

 of directing the mind in the pursuit of substan 

 tial knowledge, and the numerous obstructions 

 which occur in our researches after truth, amidst 

 the contradictory opinions, the jarring interests, 

 and the wayward passions of men, if we con 

 sider the imperfections of our senses, and the 

 fallacies to which they are exposed the preju 

 dices and the passions which seduce us into er 

 ror how readily we embrace a glittering phan 

 tom for a substantial truth and how soon our 

 spirits faint under the pressure of intense appli 

 cation to mental pursuits, we shall be convinc 

 ed, that, in this sublunary sphere, there is no 

 scope for the full exercise of the intellectual 

 powers, and that the present world must be only 

 a preparatory scene to a higher state of exist 

 ence. Besides, even in those cases where every 

 requisite for the acquisition of knowledge is pos 

 sessed where leisure, wealth, education, books, 

 instruments, and all the assistances derived from 

 learned associations, are conjoined with the most 

 splendid intellectual endowments, how feeble are 

 the efforts of the most penetrating and energetic 

 mind, and how narrow the boundary within which 

 its views are confined ! The brightest genius, 

 standing on the highest eminence to which sci 

 ence can transport him, contemplates a bound 

 less prospect of objects and events, the knowledge 

 of which he can ne\er hope to attain, while he 

 is chained down to the limits of this terrestrial 

 ball. His mental eye beholds an unbounded and 

 diversified scene of objects, operations, relations, 

 changes, and revolutions, beyond the limits of 

 all that is visible to the eye of sense : he catches 

 an occasional glimpse of objects and of scenes 

 which were previously involved in obscurity, he 

 strains his mental sight, stretches forward with 

 eagerness to grasp at new discoveries, descries 

 some openings which direct his view into the re 

 gions of infinity and eternity is still restless and 

 dhsatisfied perceives all his knowledge to be 

 mere shreds and patches, or like a few dim tapers 

 amidst the surrounding gloom is convinced that 

 his present faculties are too weak and limited, 

 and that he must be raised to a sublimer station, 

 before he can fully grasp the magnificent objects 

 which lie hid in the unexplored regions of im 

 mensity. All his present views and prospects 

 are confined within a circle of a few miles, and 



all beyond, in the universal system, which ejfr 

 tends through the immeasurable tracts of infinite 

 space, is darkness and uncertainty. 



Can it, then, be supposed, that a soul furnish 

 ed with such noble powers and capacities, capa 

 ble of traversing the realm of creation, of opening 

 new prospects into the unbounded regions of 

 truth that lie before it, and of appreciating the 

 perfections of the Sovereign of the universe a 

 soul fired with ardent desires after knowledge, 

 panting after new discoveries of truth and of the 

 grandeur of the Divinity, unsatisfied with all its 

 past attainments, and contemplating a boundless 

 unexplored prospect before it should be cast off 

 from existence, and sink into eternal annihila 

 tion, at the moment when its capacities were 

 just beginning to expand, when its desires were 

 most ardent, and when the scenes of immensity 

 and eternity were just opening to its view 1 If 

 such a supposition could be admitted, man would 

 be the most inexplicable phenomenon in the uni 

 verse ; his existence an unfathomable mystery ; 

 and there could be no conceivable mode of recon 

 ciling his condition and destination with the wis 

 dom, the rectitude, and the benevolence of his 

 Creator.* 



SECTION IV. 



ON THE PERPETUAL PROGRESS OF THE MIND 

 TOWARDS PERFECTION. 



As a supplement to the preceding argument, 

 it may be stated, that the soul of man appears la 

 be capable of making a perpetual progress towards 

 intellectual and moral perfection, and of enjoying 

 felicity in every stage of its career, without Hit 

 possibility of ever arriving at a boundary to its 

 excursions. In the present state we perceive no 

 limits to the excursions of the intellect, but 

 those which arise from its connexion with an 

 unwieldy corporal frame, which is chained down, 

 as it were, to a mere point, in the immensi 

 ty of creation. Up to the latest period of its 

 connexion with time, it is capable of acquiring 

 new accessions of knowledge, higher attain 

 ments in virtue, and more ardent desires after 



Such considerations, as those which I have now 

 adduced, seem to have made a powerful impression 

 upon the minds of the philosophers of antiquity. 

 &quot;When I consider,&quot; says Cicero, &quot;the wonderful 

 activity of the mind, so great a memory of what is 

 past, and such a rapacity of penetrating into the 

 future ; when I behold such a number of arts and 

 sciences, and such a multitude of discoveries thence 

 arising ; I believe, and am firmly persuaded, that a 

 nature which contains so many things within itself 

 cannot be mortal.&quot; Cicero de Senectvte. Cap. 21 

 And if this argument appeared strong even in Cice 

 ro s time, it has received a vast accession of strength 

 from the numerous arts, sciences, inventions, and 

 discoveries, which are peculiar to the age in which 

 we live. 



