The Lambertville record., 1902-10-08
THE FEAR OF DEATH
Ut SHOULD FIND NO LODGMENT IN
ANY RATIONAL MIND.


eyitable LIS So Universal That Our
Entire Social Fabric In Largely
Built Upon IL.
Do we dread death on the same
principle that half flock of sheep
leap through certain hole In fence
because the other half has done so2
For unless the fear be traditionary
and hereditary 1t is hard to account
for IL.
Death is change occupying Il mo-
ment, from one form of life to another.
Whether 1t come In the course of ma
ture or by accident or design, ii is sell
dom painful; never probably so painful
as a bout OF the toothache. 1t brings
us from condition of bondage and
uncertainty at best to one of freedom
and security. But often 1t is n change
from slavery, both physical and moral,
to emancipation comparatively perfect,
or, II we hold the materlalst view, to
everlasting Inconsistencies. The spir-
itual state Is emancipated from the
inertia of matter and the tyranny of
space; therefore thought will be pres
ence, and mans SURROUNDINGS ns to
both thing and person Will I've inevi.
tably such as are most desirable to
him. The evil will be emaneipated
| from the opposition of the good, and
the good will not be grleyod and ham
pered by the Vaccinations of the evil.
| The whole chapter of accidents which
here looms SO large will there be elm
mated. Time, which now makes us
long for the arrival of an appointed
| hour and now dread It's too speedy
| coming, will be no more. But we shall
measure life by Its intensity and by its
| opportunities. In other words, we shall
| be the makers of our own times and
| seasons.
Death takes us from n world of eff
| fects to one of causes. The soul is
made of Will and thought and. as we
| may daily perceive, II is only the OBJ
struction of material conditions that
prevents us from Immediately accom-
| plishlng our desires and beholdlng the
realization of our thoughts. Again,
death Is inevitable TO all and TO any
one who chooses Is at any moment at
talnablc By what logic can our fear
of II be defended2
Yet we fear 1t SO much and so uni
versally that our entire social fabric is
built largely upon that fear. Our law
makes death the supreme penalty. Our
| funerals are occasions of mourning,
and the medical profession, one of the
most numerous extant, spends its ex-
istence In combating death. We seek
eagerly all nostrums or eliXirs that
promise us continuance of life. We
ascrlbe supreme merit to the soldier
who risks his life for his country or to
the individual who sacrifices 1t for 9th.
ers. We laud the stoiclsm which af-
fects to despise death, but which bases
the virtue of TINT dcsplslng upon the
acknowledged terror of the event. Our
humunilarians spend sympathy and
money in attempting to prolong the
miserable condition of the poor and
diseased. We shudder to hear of n vast
natural calamity like that of Marti-
nique or of avoidable accidents such as
are furnished daily by railways and
other Instruments of civilization. And
| all the while 1t Is the survivors who
| suffer, if any one does, though they
too, are soon comforted by time or the
insurance companies The dead man.
the man who has entered upon the new
aud spiritual life, whom we absurdly
| pity, Is free, and his troubles are over.
Suicides It Is true, are said TO In
crease with civilization. But few
| philosophical suicides occur, The ma
| Jorlty are induced by dread of life
overcoming dread of death II may be
doubted If suicide be ever the act of
man at once perfectly brave and thor
oughly sane. The value of this life
and 1t Is real yalue-ls In the dIscl-
| pllne and experience II gives, which 1t
Is our honest and sensible duty to I'M
! prove to the utmost and to the last
Life may be interesting and nrduous;
II may be disappointing and irksome.
1t Is very seldom If ever uniformly and
| positively agreeable. Fear, on the 9th
cr hand, Is one OF the worst and basest
Of evils, and fear Of death the most
irrational. 1t must have originated In
sheer ignorance and thoughtlessness.
1t ought to vanish before our modern
| enlightenment and sagaclty, and with
Its disappearance Will appear social
| changes that cannot but be revolution
ary and salutary. Julian Hawthorne
In Brandur Magazine.