102 THE IMMORTALITY OF ANIMALS 



all one breath ; so that a man hath no preeminence 

 above a beast. All go to one place." 



Again, if the objector will notice the important 

 fact that Solomon here fully recognizes that animals 

 have " spirits " or souls the same as man, we pre- 

 sume he will not consider the quotation so valuable 

 against the immortality of animals. 



The other passage urged as an objection against 

 a continuance of the being of lower animals is as 

 futile as the one just noticed. David, in speaking 

 of the rich and wicked man, says : " Nevertheless 

 man being in honor abideth not; he is like the 

 beasts that perish." 



In justice to the cause of suffering animals, let us 

 say that this text also is wrongly translated. It is 

 another instance of the persistent efforts of transla- 

 tors to exclude the lower animals from the benefits 

 of the correct words of revelation. 



There is no word in the original Hebrew, in the 

 passage referred to, which can be properly trans- 

 lated " perish." The true translation should be, 

 " like dumb beasts " or " like irrational beasts." 

 The word " perish " does not occur in the original 

 Hebrew and should not be added. The Jewish 

 Bible, which retains the purest Hebrew, uses 



