FIDO FIDES. 
269 
bounded by a circle of less radius than mine, that is the 
only difference. 
Friend .—Then I suppose you concede to him the 
possession of immortality, because it seems to me that 
if the mind endures, and the brutes possess mind, there is 
no escape from the conclusion that they, like man, are 
destined to live for ever. That practically is your feeling 
on this matter. 
Myself .—I have no objection to the immortality of 
any and every animal, whether an elephant or an earth 
worm, that is not my business; but I have yet to learn 
what immortality has to do with the subject. 
Friend .—You assert that these people (as you call 
them) share, in common with man, the faculty of 
thought. Now, according to our faith, it is in the pos¬ 
session of thought that man is distinguished from the 
creatures around him; and it is his mental faculty 
which is pre-eminently destined to live for ever. If, 
therefore, we accept immortality for man, let us be fair, 
and do the same for these brutes. 
Myself —Let us be fair by all means, and if it is to 
be so, I have not the least objection to meet Lido in 
heaven. If there is a paradise for birds and dogs, and 
all the rest of the creatures, my disapproval will not affect 
the fact. But this is a point I do not raise. I know 
nothing about it; all I contend for is, that the mind of 
the animal is of the same kind as the mind of man, and 
that it differs from the mind of man only in capacity. 
The other points are of your introducing. 
Friend. —It's getting late. Wehl talk this matter over 
again. Lor the present, let me warn you: the conse- 
