The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-05-17

err. like the strong voice OF O man and
the sweet voice of a woman, sing the
song for Immortality. Seed time and
harvest have always preached to the
thoughtful the lesson of another life
The strange phenomena of will and
memory and love have made 1t next TO
impossible fer men to think that man
dies when the body dies
or late, since the theory of evolution
has broadened out the reaches of mans
vision, and accustomed us to think OF
the progress of the universe through long
ages TO perfection, reason has found
new arguments for immortality. The
destiny of man, even when IT Is read
only in the book of nature. goes be-
yond the grave.
Century by century, millennium by
millennium, the world has grown out OF
nothing, upward step by step, till 1t has
reached it's climax In the spiritual ma
ture of man. What is II all for? If man
dies as the beasts die, 1t Is all for moth
ing.
From the first dawning of life" writes
Mr. John Fiske the foremos; teacher in
this country of the doctrine of evolution.
from the first dawning OF life we see
all things working toward one mighty
goal-the evolution OF the most exalted
spiritual qualities which characterize flu-
manity."
nothing? Is 1t all ephermeral. Is it
like the task Of child who builds houses
out of blocks for the pleasure of knocking
them down? The questions suggest
the answer: Death Is not the end; tie
soul Of man must live.
But we want stronger assurance than
either love or reason can give US. Love
and reason. after all, are only standing
in the shadow Of the black barrier and
guessing what Is on the other side. There
must be life beyond the grave-cries love,
hope 1t. There must be life beyond the
grave-cries reason, l think 1t. But we
want more than that. And we have
more than that. For us the longing Of
all men has been realized: the voice has
been heard to which all men desired to
listen.
"Tf only somebody could come back
from the other side OF the black wall
and tell u.s.
Out OF the other world he came, the
Divine teacher. Bringing life and Inn
mortality to light. he came. opening
heaven as wide as man may endure to
and reason are quite right about It;
that there is life beyond the grave that
the black barrier Is not a wall but a
door. Beyond Ia our Fathers house. and
many mansions In 1t, and place made
ready there for every child OF man. and
Christ himself the door and the way. 9,
Let not your heart be troubled, rlei-
Their let 1t be afraid" And, as If teaching
were not sufficiently assuring, and we
needed more than his telling us so to
make us certain that death Is but the
door of life. he died as we must die. See,
he said. Will die. just as you must die
will go before you and show you every
step of the way, so he died and came
back. 1t is true. as 1 have told you;
death is not the end; death is but a door
out OF this life into another.
And the next life, Jesus said, depends
on this. as tomorrow depends upon to-
day. In the face OF this great fact of the
uncertainty OF human life we ought to
live that the JOY Of the other world, which
they alone can appreciate who elave lived
here following the will of God, may be
possible to us. Then shall we know what
OLD ST. Ambrose meant wien he wrote