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BOOK IV

DEATH AND THE AFTER-LIFE

I

IMMORTALITY AND THE LIFE TO COME¹

The uncultivated intuition of the human mind has inspired all races of men with a desire for the soul's endless existence and with an undefined belief therein. The decay of this instinctive faith, as reason begins to be exercised upon all themes of thought, is really a favourable prognostication, for it signifies that the clouds and dark forebodings which superstition has thrown over the speculations of the human mind concerning probable realities and possessions of the other world are to be consumed by the sunlight of a free and healthy philosophy of Nature's revelations, of the mysteries which pertain to the moral government of God and the treasures of the spiritual universe.

No substance, physical or intellectual, possesses the power of self-investigation or comprehension.² We can

¹ See The Great Harmonia, Vol. II, pp. 233 et seq.
² Compare The Principles of Nature, p. 630, where it is affirmed that the germ cannot understand its own qualities, but the perfect development can, because it is a higher and unfolded state of the qualities, and is therefore enabled to comprehend all that lies below its exalted state of being. Hence the human mind can comprehend that which is inferior to itself but not that which is above, nor yet its own nature and essence. The limitation is, however, in respect of our normal state; for Davis claimed that when he entered a higher sphere of thought and

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trace analogically grosser substances up to the formation of ourselves; thereafter we arrive at mind, intelligence, spirit; but though this is the principle which has enabled us to explore all below it, we find that it is vague and indefinite for us. There is hence (a) too much belief respecting this principle and its composition, or (b) too much disbelief—each being a natural consequence of a principle attempting to investigate itself. Having no means to arrive at a distinct knowledge of the essence of intelligence,¹ we must seek otherwise for proofs of continued identity after death, and to show why we are immortal. There is a belief of ignorance, a belief of desire, a belief of the understanding. The first is unsupported by adequate reasons and is derived from hereditary inclinations or doctrinal education. The second is instinctive or intuitive and arises from a central craving of the human mind. It is considered as a living prophecy of its eternal destiny, but it is grounded on no universal principles and has no substantial basis, save an inference derived from aspirations. The third is rooted upon unequivocal knowledge. It follows from the recognition and understanding of those immutable principles which flow from the Divine Cause into the universe. The influence of the first is to generate scepti-

observation the soul ceased for him to be an indefinite and ambiguous consciousness, or—in other words—that in some form and some degree he was able to investigate and understand himself and others.
¹ It is really an old position of scholastic philosophy and was discussed fully by St. Thomas Aquinas, of whom Davis may never have heard and whom he could certainly not have read, knowing neither classical Latin nor that of the schools. According to St. Thomas, man realises himself in virtue of a reflective act, and so only, i.e., by becoming his own object or casting back upon himself. Self-consciousness is therefore attained by a reflective process, or—so to speak—at second hand, not immediately or by a direct act. This constituted for theology the eternal distinction between man and God, Who knows Himself directly and immediately. It would of course have denied that there was any psychic or interior state by which the human mind could pass into the condition of Divine self-knowledge.

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cism, and of the second to cause anxiety owing to the insufficiency of internal desires in respect of warrant. But the influence of the third is to promote happiness, because the believer can give a reason for the faith and hope within him and because he has a divine guarantee in the fact of individual existence.

The whole foundation is in the absolute indestructibility of matter, or of that universal substance which gives us tangible individuality and constitutes the outer physical organisation of the Great Positive Mind. Matter is eternal; it is in all things and is all things; there is nothing that is not matter or substance. Upon the universality and indestructibility of matter rests the reality of eternal life. We must interrogate Nature to ascertain how matter can constitute an individual and by what means that individual is rendered immortal.¹ She bids us consider the principles of association, progression and development, which laws indicate a perpetual tendency of all forms and substances toward unity, perfection and organisation. We see that mineral substances generate vivifying fluids—electricity, magnetism, etc.—and lose themselves in vegetable organisations. By a similar action the vegetable loses itself in the animal organisation, which emerges into that of man, who—as we have seen—never loses his identity in subordinate forms. We behold in this manner unmistakable evidence of association, progression and development of all matter toward a state of unity and individualisation—from the mineral up to man. All forms inferior and subordinate to man are but parts

¹ It is said otherwise that man's spiritual entity, unlike that of any inferior being, is the product of an indissoluble matrimonial alliance between all atoms of matter and all principles of mind. It is the ultimate form of all forces, the fruit of the universal tree, retaining the image and inheriting the immortality of its divine progenitors.—Penetralia, pp. 76, 77. The statement that matter is all things is obviously contradicted in other writings of Davis, but he was always apt to speak as the mood of the moment moved him.

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of him, whose brain receives the essence of that Divine Spirit which resides in and is extracted from all elements and substances, but especially those which administer to the nourishment of the body, to the gratification of its desires and senses. It concentrates, refines and elaborates this all-animating essence and dispenses it to the dependent system, according to the three modes of the essence—motion, life and sensation. It provides this essence with indestructible organisation and enables the interior organisation to manifest intelligence, both as to itself and external things.¹ The physical organism of man is designed to elaborate the individuality of mind. The use of Nature is to individualise man and of man to individualise spirit. The spirit can preserve its identity apart from the body, because every organisation is absolutely different, and this fact precludes the possibility of absorption, amalgamation and disorganisation. The difference in the arrangement of inherent elements establishes the individual in this life and through all eternity. Were spirits constituted alike they would gravitate to one centre, but being constitutionally dissimilar they can neither be merged in one another nor lose themselves—as some have been led to suppose—in the Universal Spirit or Great Positive Mind.

¹ Notwithstanding certain distinctions already noted, the terms Soul, Spirit and Mind are—for the most part—used interchangeably by Davis to characterise the one animated and animating principle in man. See The Principles of Nature, p. 593. He states also specifically that Essence, Spirit, Soul and Interior Being are used by him as so many synonyms, signifying the form which animates the body, which body is an outward expression thereof.—Ibid., p. 641. This use of the term form is noteworthy, because it is that of Latin theology, for which—and especially for St. Thomas—the soul was the form of the body. See Dom Anscar Vonier, O.S.B.: The Human Soul and its Relation with other Spirits, pp. 81 et seq. It may be mentioned further that Davis, in yet another place, draws attention to the fact that he regards soul, spirit and mind as synonyms for our mental structure. See The Great Harmonia, Vol. IV, p. 29.

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There are three evidences that the soul will preserve its identity after the change called death: (1) It is designed that Nature should develop the body; (2) it is designed that the body should develop the mind; (3) it is designed that the mind should develop itself differently from other minds and should have life for ever. These are no hypothetical reasons, but testimonies and demonstrations drawn from Nature's own instructions.¹ As regards recollection of the past and reunion hereafter with those whom we have loved on earth, we have only to reflect on the connection which subsists between the first and second spheres of human existence. The relation is as intimate as that between youth and maturity, love and wisdom, perception and memory. The experience, character and progress of an individual in this life are recorded upon and—to a modified extent—will be manifested by that individual in the life to come, and the friend or companion who has impressed us with affection here will be remembered hereafter.

The passage from this sphere into the next is no more a change to the individual than a journey from America to England, excepting the almost complete emancipation

¹ There are others and indeed many in the collected writings of Davis: one of them is presented as follows: From the first fiat that was sent forth throughout the universe one law and order reigns, manifested in conception, progression and perfection. These mark all the work, and all point with the irresistible force of demonstration to the soul's immortality. The human species, as last and highest type on earth, as that which investigates all beneath and around it, as that which has consciousness of the future, endeavours to raise the veil between physical and spiritual existence; and analogy—reasoning from what we know—points directly not only to the probability but certainty and necessity of a future existence—in short and finally to the Summer Land. All organic forms below man not only produce their like but the substances of their material forms mingle with other compounds to evolve new types superior to themselves. But the human type has no superior development and is destined therefore to unfold further in other and higher spheres, presenting not only an image and likeness of Nature and God but a consciousness of identity and individual self-hood.—Morning Lectures, pp. 65-67.

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—consequent upon the change—from rudimental misdirection and earthly imperfections. To the enlarged understanding there is no death—only the most important and delightful change in the mode of personal existence. And as we are immortal, while the memories of this life remain with us until displaced by others more spiritual, let us resolve henceforward to manifest a well-ordered life and a godly conversation.