126 
THE TRANSFORMATION. 
different in form, were sheathed in those of the 
caterpillar. “ Here!” cried the naturalist, “is 
a greater wonder than any you have yet beheld!” 
And the Grand Duke, struck with admiration, 
confessed that he had never looked on such a 
marvel before. 
You can well imagine that the butterfly, in 
this three-fold life of hers, has been regarded as 
the most striking emblem of the human soul. 
And such an idea must suggest itself even to a 
child. In the first stage of her life, the butterfly 
is a grovelling worm, never rising above the 
earth, and wholly occupied in providing for her 
necessities. 
When this is over, she is shrouded in the 
chrysalis, and for a season, lies without apparent 
life or motion. But she is only waiting for her 
last change to come, when she will emerge from 
her prison, a perfect insect, and with no resem¬ 
blance to what she was before. 
Thus man, also, has a three-fold life. 
At first he is a creature of earth, absorbed 
with bodily wants, and spending most of his 
time in supplying them. 
Then he passes into another, and a second 
state. He lies down, and is shrouded in the 
grave. “ There is no more work, nor knowledge, 
nor device.” His mortal life is ended, and his 
place will know him no more. But all this is 
