The San Francisco call., 1899-10-22


ume bearing the title, "A Short View OF
Great Questions. The questions are
those the human mind is forever asking
concerning the nature of the soul and It's
relations to the universe. The short
view is that the soul is as eter
nal as the universe itself 1t was
not created, as the theologians say, nor
evolved through ages of development. as
the scientists say, but was and is and
shall be because II Is itself part of the
universe. and not subject to either crea-
tion or annihilation.
The book is presentation Of the philos-
ophy which underlies the doctrine Of the
transmtgration of souls. and comes well
recommended. Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll.
who saw the advance sheets of the work,
wrote to the author: you have stated
your ideas with great force and clearness.
You have made the best presentation that
have read" John Clark Ridpath wrote:
Il can but regard your book as a per-
manent contribution to literature. Your
work is more than an interesting addl
ton to polite letters; it is a profound
study upon what l can but regard as the
greatest of all questions-the question OF
human destiny. You have added to the
world of thought and hope. and that Is
far greater than to add to the world Of
passing emotion"
That much Of commentator Is suf-
fcient TO show how far we have pro-
gressed in our intellectual development.
1t is not so very long ago since in an
effort to break the will of a rich man
the fact that he believed in the transmit
grafton of souls was submitted as evil
dence of unsound mind. and the court ad-
mitted It. Now the same doctrine is re-
ceived with approval, and an argument
in its favor Is hailed as a permanent con-
tribution 70 literature Thus do we grow
in variety il not in wisdom, and produce
new philosophers as well as new million
aires.
The short view" argument is simple.
1t begins by asserting as a self-evident
proposition that the supreme law OF the
universe is justice-"justice to the finest
degree, as exact as arithmetic, as the
movements of the stars 1t then pro-
ceeds: There are but three theories OF
mans origin and destiny. First the
theory of materialism, that mans lie
begins with his birth and ends with
the death of his body; second, the theory
of theology. that man is created at his
birth with an immortal soul which survives
the death of his body; third, the theory
of reincarna ation, sometimes called metem-
psychosis, or the transmigrauon or sous,
that man has an immortal soul which
existed before his birth and survives the
death of his body
After that much has been set forth as
indsputable, the rest Is easy. 1t is said:
II God or nature has created one man
good and another man bad, then God or
nature has been unjust. Justice can De
established only upon one theory-that
the soul of man is pre-eXistent and after
existent, immortal and eternal. Man will
forever be what he makes himself. His
follies and his vices are his own; his
strength and goodness are his own. En-
phasis," says the writer. should be
placed upon the fact that the theory of
reincarnation is nothing more nor less
than the doctrine OF the complete immor-
tality of the soul. 1t is no new doctrine,
no new thought, no new revelation. 1t is
but the completion of the old belief which
nearly all men have held in nearly all
times"
All of which is most excellent, but 1
would like to see the argument or the
array of facts on which is based the as
sumption that the supreme law of the
universe is justice. So far as is known to
me there is not one single force in the
universe that tends to justice save only
the desire of the human intellect, and
that force is so easily swayed to contrary
courses by every promise Of personal gain
it hardly counts for much save In the
worthiest men. Neither do I see much Of
Justice In the doctrine of reincarnation.
Why should a mans soul be a dogs in
the next life simply because ii makes an
ass of itself in this one?
Celebrating his theory of justice, the
preacher of the creed Of relncarnation
says: The law of averages indicates that
what is called luck is only manifest in a
superficial or a temporary sense, and that
in the deeper and more permanent sense
there is no such thing as hazard in the
world" He goes on in another place to
say: Man is his own savior. Heaven
and hell are real. Hell is in the neglect
ing of opportunities. Heaven is in the
improving of opportunities.
Were there justice in the world that
might be true, but as there is no justice
II isn't true. Luck is one of the most
potent factors in human life. 1t deter
mines the outcome of almost every ven-
ture. Many a man has seized an oppor-
tunity only TO find that he has caught
hornet. Many a man has neglected op-
portunities. and by doing so has had
better opportunity later on. Opportunity
is like a pretty woman. 1t is sometimes
of advantage to embrace her and some
times of advantage to forego the bliss
but as to when the one time and not the
other is present no mortal wisdom can
determine.
Two prospectors go up a mountain path
and reach a place where it can be pur-
sued no further: a turn must be made
either to the right or the left. One man
goes to the right and after dangers and
tolls met with courage and perseverance
leaves his bones in some lonely canyon
The other turns to the left and finds
bonanza. What is it but luck?
One man makes a friend and the friend
betrays him, another makes an enemy and
the enemy serves him; one man marries
his first love and wishes afterward he had
gone to Texas first, and another goes to
Texas and behold he finds an angel; one
man sends wheat to a famine land and
1t gets there just after the market has
been overstocked, another sends coal to
Newcastle and It reaches port just as a
miners strike occurs and he makes a
fortune and gets reputation as a fnan-
cier. The proverb of the people saws. "It
is better to be born lucky than rich"
In the good old days of South Africa.
before the diamond fields were discovered
two Englishmen. James Starlight and John
Owen Smith. were engaged in partnership
in doing a general trading business
through the country. When they deter
mined to dissolve the partnership and re-
tire from trade they found among their
assets a certain tract containing 1000
acres of land, but situated so far away on
the desolate plateaus of the interior of