DEATH AND RESURRECTION. 15 



in all superfluity, so that the soul could 

 not help but suffer a ceaseless regret 

 whether it moved in the halls of Val- 

 halla or in the Elysian fields. Glori- 

 ous meadows, crystal waters, streams 

 of milk and honey, could not obliterate 

 the craving of the soul for its corporeal 

 existence. It returns time and again 

 to the body in the grave to enjoy the 

 sacrifices and cares of the surviving. 

 This mourning for the body and con- 

 tinuous longing for the sunny life on 

 earth made death seem something ter- 

 rible that fretted and tormented men. 

 Was it not natural, then, that the men- 

 tal disharmony caused by the thought 

 of death, should sooner or later bring 

 about a reaction; give birth to the hope 

 of a reunion of the soul with the body 

 on a resurrection dav of the dead? At 



m 



some such conclusion several religions 

 have arrived. We need mention only 

 the Norse sagas, Islam, Parseeism and 

 Judaism. A resurrection, everywhere 

 tnught in almost identical terms, is 

 placed at the end of the present system 



