The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-05-08

besmeared arms, all wandering aim
lessly about. There were the mothers
of Ulysses, Achilles, and Tityus and
Tantalus and Sisyphus and Hercules;
but none were happy. "The souls
of the deceased dead stood sorrowing,
and each related their griefs." The
mother of Ulysses inquired my
child,ss how came you in this murky
gloom7 Awful to the living are these
sights" The spirit of Achilles ex-
claimed,-"Speak not to me of death,
oh, illustrious Ulysses! l would
wish, being on earth, to serve poor
man at hard labor, rather than rule
over all the departed dead"
Hence it is a true saying, there
was no conception of life beyond the
grave in the age of Homer which
would be worth living. And the age
of Homer was thousand years be-
fore Christ. 1t was life of spectres,
of sadness, of toilworn men, of infin
lite sorrow, and pathos, and weakness.
And we have quite the same condi-
ton of things described by the Ro-
man poet, Virgil. The inhabitants
are not above the quality of familiar
spirits, of witches and charmers, land
wizards that peep and mutter." 1t is
not surprising that death was the
king of terrors so long as people be-
lieved that he would enforce upon
them the eternal society of spirits
like these.
No immortal could find satisfaction
in such state of being. His life
would be ''as when a hungry man
dreameth, and behold, he eateth.
But he awaketh, and his soul is
empty. Or, as when thirsty man
dreameth, and behold, he drinketh.
But he awaketh, and behold, he is
faint. and his soul hath appetite"
Equally repulsive were the ideas
ofthe Scribes and Pharisees as to the
conditions of immortality. Their
doctrines are set forth clearly in the
traditional parable of the Rich Man
and Lazarus.
The regions are all under ground,
like those of Homer and Virgil. The
good and bad are indeed separated;
but the partition is so narrow that
sight and hearing and converse are
practical necessity. Dives petitions.
Abraham answers. A long interview
is had, even in the one single para
BILE.
Now, we say that this is repulsive
immortality. LII is not worth living,
neither for saint nor for sinner. The
one is in the fire begging for water.
The other is in sight and in hearing.
1t is perdition,to both parties. One
might as we'll expect sweet sleep and
a crying babe under the window. He
might as well anticipate a joyous
homestead built adjoining lunatic
asylum, and filled with the din of the
wrong-wittedl It is one of the
strange, anomalous denominations of
modern theologians not to explain
that this doctrinal, traditional para
BILE of the Bharisees is no part of pure
Christianity. The suppression of
this fact is criminal in the teacher
who has the truth in the case. An
immortality illustrated by that para
BILE would make bad men worse, and
good men miserable. Such an i'm
mortality is not worth possessing. 1t
would forever disgrace the benignity
of heaven. None but demons could
sing for joy On either side of the gulf
between Dives and Lazarus. Who
would care fora corner lot, for spirit
ual homestead, in Abraham's bosoms
Hence we may affirm that the pre-
vailing conceptions of Immortality, up
to the advent OF Jesus of Nazareth,
presented no future state for the soul
desirable as an inheritance for HUI
mainly. We speak of common opin-
ions, not denying the rare, royal ex-
ceptions Of such illuminated minds
as Socrates, and Plato, and Cicero,
and other great lights of antiquity.
Hence we may enter into the en-
joyments of the beautiful Easter
season with fresh gratitude to our
Lord and Master. The spiritual
world is new land by the revelation
which came through his lips. In the
first place he has taught us that the
departing soul no longer goes down,
but upward.
The entering into immortality is
not now simply departure, "going
down" to our kindred mourning. 1t
is rising; rising up; resurrection;
an ascending to the company of the
immortals; going away from the
earth not descending into it.
And this rising up is common to