The herald., 1893-10-01
THEIMMORTAL|TY OF THE SOUL
The Analogies of Nature Which
Favor the Argument.
The Direct Evidence Only Given in
Personal Experience.
How Such Evidence May BE Obtained.
Searching for Truth q Ia Keplor.
Phenomena Produced by
Immortal Souls.
[rIFru PAPER.l

no room for levity or ridicule. 1t ap-
peals to the desires of the mind and the
longing of the heart. As we reverence
and love our kith and kin, as we indi-
vidually respect ourselves, 90 we hold
sacred their memories. and have the
laudable ambition to be so remembered
ourselves when we shall havs crossed
the dark river.
Death comes to all. 1t is the one or
deal from which none escape. All must
baptized in the chilling waters OF the
food. Kindred and friends have
passed beyond. What is their destiny
Have they been blottsd out, do they ex-
let as mere shades, or are they in the
full possession and exercise OF their
mental faculties? If the last question
could be satisfactorily answered in the
Affirmative, or, better still, be demon
strated, what q consolation it would be !!
Loved ones on the other side would then
certainly return to guide and bless those
yet on earth.
There are many analogies in nature
which are harmonious with the idea OF
future life.
sweet poet has said:
There is no DEATH the stars go down,
TO rise upon brighter shore,
Where sin and sorrow, pain and death
Are tclt and feared no more"
st. Paul compares it to plant life. The
seed is the body sown in the ground !;
not the body that shall be. The germ
Of life does not die, but it lives on. 1t
stands again, for such 10 the meaning of
the word resurrection. in new body.
$50 also is the resurrection of the dead"
In the physical change called death the
germ Of life (the spirit) does not die; it
lives on, and islands again" in a new,
spiritual, incorruptible and glorifed
body. Samples of such bodies were
shown in Moses and Elijah on the Mount
OF TRANSPORTATION, and in Christ after
the resurrection.
A beautiful analogy is that of the
butterfly. At first mere worm crawl
ing upon the ground. Its horizon is go
limited. 1t knows nothing OF space or
levitation, or the beauty of the flowers.
A change comes. Its body, in a man
ner, dies-turns into chrysalis-and
forth from the delicate shell comes the
gorgeous butterfly, winging space and
enjoying the nectar of the gods. II the
soul is immortal, may its evolution not
be something alter this pattern?
The doctrine of evolution is now gen.
orally accepted in regard to the origin
OF man rather than the doctrine OF crea.
tion, That the latter doctrine, taught
oaly in the Jewish scriptures, must be
untrue is shown by the teachings OF
nature. The thyroid glands or gills, the
coccyx or tail bone, the pineal gland or
rudimentary eye. the mamm9 in males,
and several other curious parts of the
human anatomy 60 to confirm the doc
trine OF evolution of mans ascent from
lower forms of life.
II then man was evolved from lower
forms OF life, why NAV he not evolve to
higher iormse of life? Have the pro
cesses Of evolution stopped? What stu.
dent OF sciencesislthere, believing in the
doctrine OF evolution, who can refuse to
give assent to the proposition that man
may be progressing onward toward an
other and higher life? The idea is
logical.
Plato, in his dialogues, makes Soc
rates give some very good arguments for
the Immortality of the soul. A poet
was constrained to write:
ait must be so, Plato; thoureasoneth WE'LL
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond de-
SIRE this longing after Immortality"
And yet Plato's best evidence is to US
mere hearsay. The arguments are spe-
cious. The logic is good. but upon what
fscts do the premises rect? 1t is un-
doubtedly true thatboth Socrates and
Plato had the direct evidence, but no.
where ia 1t revealed in any of their
writings. Indeed, from It's very nature
it could not be; at best only the man
ner of obtaining 1t may be given, for the
direct evidence OF the Immortality OF the
soul is something that each one can get
only by his own experience.
This evidence and experience can only
be obtained by personal effort. He
who approaches the shrine of truth
must come with n willing spirit. He
must not be unressonably credulous or
incredulous. He must be willing to
witness tho truth, and not until every
test has been satisfactorily applied.
Then he should disbelieve whatever his
reason cannot accept or his conscience
approve and believe what they do, as
becomes an honest man.
All students kn W that the one great
battle of their lives is to overcome
prejudice TO unlearn their errors. A
slandered name will turn many away
from investigation of valuable truth.
1t has been suggested in former ar
ticles OF this series that the art of meg
merism is the open door to knowledge
of Immortality, and yet with scores the
very mention of the term arouses their
prejudices and closes every avenue of
investigation. Such clam-like action is
the highest OF inconsistency on the part
OF the Tree thinking and liberal classes
of materialiets and agnostics. All
others are bound to investigate if they
believe their Bibles.
The science of mesmerism has been
known and its arts practiced for un
known ages. A little over a century ago
it was frat formulated by DR.. Mesmer OF
Switzerland, and thus prominently
brought to the attention OF the scientific
world. Later it has been renamed as
hypnotiem; but it means jnst the came.
The central idea OF mesmerism ia the
supremacy OF mind over matter. In the
act OF "mesmerizing," 30 often done,
one mind simply gives up, or yields, or
gets out OF the way. for another mind to
use ito body. Who can doubt thia
proposition after having witnessed it's
operations When in this condition
the operator at will makes the subject
act, thiNk or talk as he pleases. To be
mesmerized, the mind OF the subject
must be willing and passive; or mega
tive, as it ia otherwise called. while the
mind OF the operator must be positive.
These are some of its conditions.
In former article it was suggested
that if one embodied mind could be
mesmerzed by another embodied mind,
4 =.