ON IMMORTALITY. 161 



became immortal is still more difficult ; as the question 

 why, >r for what merit or demerit, having been previously 

 mortal like the brutes, and not more moral, he became 

 liable to an eternity of happiness or misery, is wholly 

 unanswerable. Possibly, however, only superior spirits, 

 and those who strongly desired it, were privileged with 

 the boon of immortality. But in that case, it is not an 

 attribute of the species, and all pretence at constructing 

 a universal argument in favour of it is given up. Indeed, 

 these very questions that we must nevertheless raise, 

 for they force themselves upon us, sufficiently show the 

 absurd notion of the whole doctrine; as a moment's 

 reflection on the kind of future life that religions offer 

 us shows how little desirable it would be, even if a thing 

 so tremendous were at all within the scope of possibility. 

 It is, nevertheless, the secret hope and aspiration of 

 man's heart that he shall have another life, and in spite 

 of his religions, that that life shall be a happier one ; and 

 to this the reply of Science is that the thing is incredible 

 and impossible. The origin of man abundantly demon- 

 strates the groundless nature of this special claim and 

 hope ; and of this origin he must be reminded when he 

 manifests such aspiring blood. He must be told that he 

 is only the higher animal, who has distanced the others 

 in the struggle for existence, and that it is not clear how 

 he has acquired any title to an immortal future merely 

 by his successful efforts to advance himself efforts, too, 

 which would scarcely have been so successful had not 

 fortune favoured him much beyond his merits. In short, 

 he should rest satisfied with his earthly superiority ; and 

 when he aspires to immortality he must be emphatically 

 reminded that he is only, with all his pride and after all 

 his success, the superior social animal, scarcely even so 

 much in some important particulars ; that he is animal, 



M 



