The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-20
THE QUESTION OF IxMonrAI1rE
The Soul, Like Matter, Impsrishabls and
Indeatr otiblo


To THE EDITOR OF TIE SUN-Sir: I read
with a good deal OF interest the letters OF
Andrew Forsythe" and ~. o." on immor-
tally In to- lays Sun. Both assume too much.
They ought to show that the soul is mortal.
There Is not particle OF proof for asserting
that the soul dies with the body. The uffrma-
tive is not he who asserts Immortality. but II IL
he who says the soul 10 mortal. Hence. accord
ing to tho rules OF loaic they must prove that
the soul Is mortal. In fact. the presump tlon IL
in favor Of tho continued existence Of the soul.
Tho only kind OF destruction which expe-
rience makes known to us In nature furnishes
no analogy with an extinction OF the human
soul" says gifted writer
Mr.. Forsythe says. II a man die shall he live
again ?" He implies that we have 1t In our
power to decide the question. He evidently
meant pW he live again Scottish society
once debated tho question. Shall the earth he
destroyed by 1rep" An Irish wit said. Il don {
know. l have not heard the debate" should
be very much pleased to hear Mr.. Forsythe's
reason for stating that the soul ceases to be.
u. O." speaks OF electricity being completely
destroyed. or annlhilated. The abest modern
chemists toll us that in all so-called Transfers
nations and transmutations OF bodies nothing
substantial perishes. II there Isl change it 10
accidental and external to the atoms. which
continue Interchangeable. Many others say that
they can prove capacity OF change and trans
formation In the atoms. Rs Pelouze. Frenzy.
Watt. Bertholot. Thomas OF AQuin and oil his
followers. II Is true we do not know what an
atom Ia tStockardt. D. 1876: WurtZ. Atomic
Theory" Armstrong and Meldola In Encyclo-
pndia britannica: Wurtz. p 331; and Max
we'll in Encyl. Brit. In his article on "Atom.'o
All. however. agree that there 10 nothing lost.
When sulphur 10 combined with iron we get
e,,lp Mt irop a tha nj n ar
Is exactly equal to the iron and sulphur COM
bined. Matter. tYoumans p. 2a1) 10 imperisha-
bic. but the forms are destroyed. But what
chemist or philosopher ever maintained that
anything that ever existed was completely de-
stroyed or annihilatedr The indestructibility
OF matter 10 an axiom with physicists and
chemists.
tits indeed true that u Is a puzzle to philoso-
pliers OF the heather school to understand
why any immortal soul is united to a NOR
tai body. Plato thought 1t was q punish
mont for past offences. But Christian philos-
ophy explains the enigma. 1t 10 also hard to
understand how tho soul can reason without
organs OF sense. but II 10 equally as hard to
understand how II reasons with them.
But suppose We cannot prove with certainty
that tho soul IL immortal and spiritual. are we
justified In denying TT Scotus. the keenest OF
dialectioians. and his school maintain that tho
argume nts for the immortality OF the soul are
not conclusive. and contend that they have
only q certain probability. although the in
tsllectual giants OF all ages try to show the i'm
mortality OF the soul by . metaphysical and
moral demonstration. But Scotus did not
deny immortality Plato. Socrates. Cicero and
host Of the brightest and best Of antiquity
taught It without suggestions from the Evan
gelists. Then. again. Tertullian. Melito. Lac
tantius. Alexander Hales and. probably Bona
ventura argued that the soul 10 oorporeal; but
none OF them denied its Immortality. Even
Augustine. who agreed with Plato that the soul
10 a simple substance. considered its sim pllcity
merely relative compared with the body. The
Fathers OF the Christian Church say that
Aristotle held that the soul was not immortal.
I certainly do not believe them. At best
It 10 doubtful what he believed on the matter.
Now. Newman believed In Q God and In Chris
tlanity on q probability that probabilities
which did not reach to logical certainty suf-
feed for mental certitude. And the gertrude
thus brought about eoualisd the strictest sci
entihc demonstration. He wrote q book.
Grammar OF Assent" to explain the above.
I think should be able to persuade Mr.. For
sythe that his soul 10 immortal II he should
read Newman's great masterpiece.
TRENTON. Sept. 16. ScHoLAsr1cus.