The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-06-17
Sheath of the Soul.
To tn. Editor. The Washington Herald:

To the Editor. The Warrington Herald:
In a Communication to your Jour
nal the other day. signed Nietzsche,
I noticed the following statement:
There is no other life" The writer
was discussing the question of the
Immortality of the human soul.
should like to know how Nietzsche
acquired his Information. To quote
from the Book of Job: Have the
gates OF death been opened unto
thee?" Assuredly not!-therefore
the question of an after life re-
mains an open one. 1t admits OF
debate. Many famous philosophers
of ancient and modern times have
expressed their belief in immor-
tally. Who can forget Plato's pro-
found dissertation on the subject
in his Phaedo? Eminent scientists
of modern times, such as Lord KEEL
vim. Sir oliver Lodge, Alfred Rus
sell Wallace, Caesar Lombroso,
Henri Bergson. and Camille Flam-
marion, have declared their belief
in a future life. basine their con-
illusions not on the dogmas OF reli-
gion. but on their observations re-
xarding the transcendance OF mind
over matter: of mind as unique
or psychic energy. quite apart and
distinct from matter. Gases do not
think, love, will or hate. The life
force builds a body for itself out
of the material atoms of the uni
verse. and finally when II with
draws. the atoms composing the
| body disintegrate. AS Victor Hugo
says: To be born Is to enter the
visible world; to die Is to enter
the invisible world" One of the
strange contradictions Of material
lists is their assumption of the in
destructibility of physical force and
the denial OF the eternity OF physi-
cal energy, the greater of the two.
Without physical energy there
would be no organization at all
The great mystery OF the universe
Is too battling to be glibly settled
by a mere assertion like that of
Nietzsche. When the curtains OF
death are drawn aside we shall
know or we shall not know
When dealing with such q pro-
found question as that OF immor-
tally, IL hehooves us to be more
humble. Even Ingersoll. the great
aRnostic. speaking at the grave OF
his brother. said: II know not
whether death be a wall or a door"
He dared not go further. Mate
rialism as a philosophy is on the
wane among thinking men. But
materialism. alas. still permeates
scientific thought. although all SCI
entists are not materialists. as we
have seen. Many noted men have
broken away from the idea that
the universe is the product of blind
unconscious force. and are posting
will or mind as the suhstratum
Without desire Cor willy there
could be no evolution from monad
to man. To say that the psychic
energy Is dissipated at death Is
begging the question. No force can
be annihilated Our bodies are
forces are in a complete state of
flux, but the personality remains.
II II were merely physical II would
be swept away in the rush of mat
ter. which has been likened to a
flowing river Materialists ask
Shall we have a body In the next
lift. A HuFo remarks: "Why
should we not have a body. a SUBJ
tie and ETHEREAL body. OF which our
human body would be but a rough
sketch" st. Paul speaks of the
natural body and the spiritual
tody. Those remarkable thinkers.
the Hindooss regard the body as a
mere sheath Of the soul. The soul
In it's upward progress uses many
sheaths-to fit the particular plane
on which u may be.
HENRY r. EVANS. Lift. d.