A FUTURE LIFE 267 



more than she can fulfill? That she has made the 

 promise of a future existence in which the soul shall 

 preserve its conscious identity is written in the uni- 

 versal desire and belief of the human race in all 

 ages. 



Nature affords the means for gratifying, in the most 

 ample way, all of man's natural desires. If he is 

 thirsty, she gives him water to' quench his thirst. If 

 hungry, she offers him nourishing and delicious food 

 of a thousand kinds to satisfy his hunger. 



If he would enjoy the beautiful, the world abounds 

 in objects that gratify his love of the beautiful. If 

 he seeks and longs for immortality, it would seem to 

 be in harmony with the general workings of nature's 

 laws that this greatest and most cherished of all ' 

 desires should be gratified. 



Matter and force do not perish; they may change 

 their relations to each other, but not their essential 

 nature. Why shall we assume that mind, the ruler of 

 all, is an exception to indestructibility? Why shall 

 we say that the highest product of creation — that 

 Without which creation would have been a failure, so 

 far as we can judge — must perish, while thoughtless, 

 senseless matter and force remain through the eternal 

 ages? 



"I hold it truth with him who sings 

 To one clear harp in divers tones, 

 That men may rise on stepping-stones 

 Of their dead selves to higher things." 



Must we believe that mind which declares the ex- 

 istence of an Infinite, Intelligent Creator is the most 

 transient of all things? 



The mind feels that it was not born to die. It 

 turns with abhorrence from the thought of annihila- 

 tion and seeks refuge in the hope of a happy exist- 

 ence through endless ages to come. 



