Catoctin clarion., 1896-10-01


we have never paid fair equivalent, for
which we have Never striven, to which we
have never even given a thought-soul.
Emerson's law of compensation holds good
in the spiritual world as elsewhere; we pay
for everything we get, after its kind.
But let us not misunderstood Emerson
He does not deny future existence to such as
do not possess great souls. Thru all his
writings he makes Il subtle distinction be-
tween mere existence and Immortality
Hear his own words: "Mcn are too often
unfit to hive, from their obvious inequality to
their own necessities, and they would gladly
know that they were to be dismissed from
the duties of life. But the wise instinct asks
how will death help thcm| Duties are
not dismissed when they die. The weight
of the universe Is pressed down on the shoul
ders of each moral agent to hold him to his
task, The only path of escape known in all
the worlds of God, is by performance, you
must do your work before you shall be re-
leased" Here is the plain assertion that all
of us, every soul shall continue to exist; that
every man has his work to do, and there is
no escape from such work except thru per-
tormance, if not in tins world, then in some
other of Gods worlds. Death nowhere car
release us from our obligations. But immor-
talty? Ah that is another thing! lmmor.
tahty is not simple existence, it is life. 1t is
growth of mind enlargement Of soul thus
giving depth and intensity to life. "By every
,hroe of growth, the man expands there
where he works, passing at each pulsation,
whole classes And populations ofmen. With
each divine impulse, the mind rcnrs the thin
rlnds of the visible and finite, and comes out
into eternity, and inspires and expires its air. "
Immortality, to Emerson, is as much
bc;yond continued existence Us the life of man
is above the brute. The animal enjoys pres
cnt existence. and may, for aught we know,
enjoy existence after death. But we dare
hardly ascrbe to it immortality as Emerson
uses the word | think much confusion of
thought may be avoided if we will stop and
analyze our traditional view of immortality.
II is for us simply existence after death under
the limitations of time and space. We habit
ually speak of 1t rs the other world divided
into two compartments heaven and hell.
Now TO Emerson, heaven is not place but
condition of soul; and the greater the soul
the less it has to do with persons ard places
with time and space
"The soul looketh steadily forward creating
worlds away before her, leaving worlds al
way behind her. She has no dates no rites,
nor person, nor spccallies nor men. The
soul knows only the SOUL
"Futurc state is an illusion for the ever
present state. 1t is not length OF life, but
depth Of lite. 1t is no duration but Il taking
of tn" soul out of time, as all high action Of
the mind docs-no Immortality but eternity
ii state of abandonment to the Highest and
so sharing his perfection.
Jesus explained nothing but his influence
took people out ottme a.d they felt eternal.
y great integrity makes us immortal. A
deep love, a strong will, arms us above fear
Tuc ioyc that will be annhilatcd rather
than be trearhcl"us has alrca y made death
impossible and all ms Itself no mortal, bat a
native of the deeps OF absolute and incX'in
ruishable beng"
Let us frankly confess that our idea OF
Immortality is selfish rs well as scn'ual
one. We cray: future existence without
asking ourselves as Emerson says, whether
we deserve it. And we conceive Of heaven
not as perfection of soul, but as II happy go.
lucky, easy, idle life IN a beautiful world
surrounded with flowers and music and cy-
erything that appeals to the senses: filled
with vague fear and anxiety lest We should
not be conscious Of this previous life, and
remember persons and places, aud dates and
names, and greet them again. This traai-
the desire of an uncultivatcd soul
Let me ask in all seriousness, how far re
moved is il from the savage who Conceivcs
of heaven as "happy hunting ground All
sensual conceptions belong to the infancy OF
the soul and to the childhood of the race.
Let me quote again from "Ovcrsoul'
"Men ask of the immortality of the soul
and the cmployments of heaven, and the
state Of the sinner, sc, They even dream
that Jesus has lett replies TO these intcrrsg,
tories Never a moment did That sublime
| spirit speak in their dialect. TO truth, l0ye
! Justice, the attributes Of soul, the idea o
immutablenrss is essentially associated. -
Jesus living in these moral sentiments heed
| less of sensual fortunes, never separated tho
idea of duration from these attrlbul es, never
uttered syllable concerning the duration o
the soul. 1t was left to his disciples to sever
these and teach immortality as a doctrine
and maintain it with evidences. The mo
mcnt the doctrine of immortality is separate
ly taught, man is already fallen. In tn,
| flowing of love IN the alteration of humility
there is no question Of continuance. NJ
| inspired man ever asks this question or con
dlscencis to Evidence
Here, then, to sum up, is Emcrson's relig
ious philosophy in brief; God IS the Oversou
which enfolds and penetrate9 ana vitalizes al
nature Of which the soul is the flower an(
elimination. Man is an embryo God: the
soul al eptomc or ray from the oversoul
divine and immortal in the degree OF lis
purity; in its fullest perfection as manifested
in Christ, is God incarnate in man. Because
the soul is Of God it is immortal, and the
measure of immortality is the measure OF
! God in the soul But as God is infinite i'm
| mortality is no final or fixed state or condl