The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-05-22
AFTER DEATH-WHAT?
The Unseen Things the Eternal Ones
Unseifi,h Love Will Survive.

The Unseen Things the Eternal Ones
Unseifi,h Love Will Survive
Invisible things-forces. laws, thoughts,
ideas, love-are transcendanLly more i'm :
portanJ than the mere changing phe-
nomena that we see. Even in the physi-
are eternal" Moreover, our minds re-
quire purpose for the universe as truly
as they compel us TO LOOK for unity and
order in IT,. The Idea Of moral order,
with beneficence at the heart OF things.
alone satisfies this demand for an ade-
Quate purpose. But IL death ended all /,
what adequate purpose could there be |?
Again, for the normal life the element of
nope is an essential factor. As a rule
man at his best is most impressed with
the conviction that life aud not deatu is
his destiny. Ii is at least reasonable to
suppose that this hope STANDS for reality.
But how can another life be? Those
alleged to have been raised from the dead
have not made the nature of the other
life any clearer. But we no more want
to know definitely about the future life
than we want to know what will happen
next year. Moreover, If the other'lifs is
in any way different from this, If there is
large variety in store, how can we have
description of that for which we do not
possess the language? Unless the future
is monotonous repetition OF this life, 1t
derstand it.
1t seems evident that much that char
acterizes life might disappear in 4 future
life as completely as the material body.
We could have no uso for cur scientific
knowledge or for any other intellectual
possession. Our mental furniture is fitted
TO the present environments.
Take the highest type of man aud see
what is left after removing the present
environment and the knowledge fitting 1t.
Certain moral, mental and spiritual quail
tiles give man the citizenship OF the
world; and moral and spiritual qualities
must give man the citizenship of the
universe. He who has pure heart. who
abides by principle, who loves Justice and
mercy, would be at home anywhere in
the universe.
It is idle to ask in detail what one
would do In another life. We can eur-
mise that he would know how 20 use
and enjoy the divine forces ami rejoice in
obeying the natural laws, that he would
fiud there order and beauty. and that his
highest satisfaction would be love. In the
highest reaches of the personality. when
one is filled with pure love, or when In
conservation to duty the will is one with
the good will, the human spirit seems TO
transcend time and space aud tinite limi-
tations. II this experience of union
with God" is the best which life offers
mere, IL Wouiu appear W ue buo eat noso Va
the eternal life.
Shall we know our friendsf This
would seem to depend on what the basis
of friendship had been. The lower Kind
of love or friendship can hardly survive
the environment. But high unselfish
love must survive. All noble souls who
have true love will instinctively know
each other.
Higher animals, savages and children.
cannot be thought to have acquired citi-
zenship of the universe. What is there
in them worth saying2 There is scarcely
developed in them personality, and
surely, the less DEVELOPMENT mere. tae
more slender must be any bond OF
identity to connect another life with this.
Still, nothing precious wlh be lost; some
where even germs of hiahSr life will
have developments, - Charles r. Dole IN
North American ReUteao.