DEATH AND RESURRECTION. 193 



been found as naive as they are un- 

 natural, because any such direct trans- 

 position of man's entity is impossible 

 and unthinkable. 



But however simple and scientifical- 

 ly natural the theory here proposed, it 

 could not have appeared at a much 

 earlier date. It requires not only the 

 results of modern cytology but also the 

 widening of the idea of immortality 

 which natural science suggests and 

 overwhelmingly proves. It presupposes 

 also the law of evolution we have en- 

 deavored to make clear, namely, that 

 beings endowed with common wants 

 and existing in similar surroundings 

 and conditions cannot develop, except 

 by the upbuilding of an organism, and 

 thus entering as organic members in 

 an individual of higher order than 

 themselves. From these premises we 

 might have deduced our theory of 

 death and resurrection and yet the 

 whole process would still have seemed 

 mysterious and inexplicable but for 

 the work of our great predecessor, 



