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“ TRL'TM BEARS THE TORCH IN THE SEARCH FOR T R L T H .” - ^ , , , ,.,y , , /ô,
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VOL. 5.
S II.V E K T O X ,
OREGON, THURSDAY, JANUARY
m. E. M. .Id . io .il.
P a ssa g e s F r o m th e “ C hoir In v is - to subm it every aspect of «hi. im- .erised prim itive m an. and has „1
ible.” (To be M em orised.)
portant dogma to a critical « n » ways been widelv ’spr-»d 'th e sec
BY GEORGE ELIOT,
o
v 0. 1.
ally , however, they refrain
Hvi.’. Z i 't ^ V ’-
■ nation, and to prove its untena-j oudary absence of belief in ¡m inor-' empirical scien^Tof the 'bra'
,h e e ” »iriCal ' " « 7
< " * ' ..... late stage „ „ L e d sô Z
^ d , ^
MAY I jo in th ecfy o ir in v isib le,
Of th o se im m o rta l dead who live
again
In m in d s m ade b e tte r by th e ir p resen ce:
live
In p u lse s s tirre d to g e n e ro sity .
In deeds of d a rin g r e c titu d e , in sco rn
F o r m isera b le aim s th a t end w ith self.
In th o u g h ts su b lim e t h a t pierce th e
n ig h t lik e s ta rs ,
A nd w ith th e ir m ild p e rs is te n c e u rg e
m a n ’s search.
To v a ste r issues.
d ata of m odern biology.
o f history : i t ta tbe ripe fruit of century th a t the soul could con-
in order to have a sh o rt and con­ profound reflection on life and tinue to be regarded as its m yster-
venient expression for the two op- death, the outcom e of bold and in-
posed opinions on the question, we dependent philosophical specult- lous in h ab itan t. It was the gigantic
f-hall call the belief in m a n ’s ( r 'lio n . We first meet it in some of progress of biology ¡n the present
sonal im m o rtality “ a th a n a tism ” the Ionic philosophers of the sixth century, and especially in the later
h alf of the century, that finally de­
(from ath an e s or ath an ato s, dea h- cen tu ry B. C , then in the founders
less or im m o rtal). In the otoer of the old m aterialistic philosophy, stroyed the myth. The establish­
hand, we give the nam e of “ tban- D em ocritus and Em pedocles, and ment of the theory of descent aud
atism ’ (from thanatos-deal h ) to and also in Sim onides and E p i­ the cellular theory, the astounding
discoveries of ontogeny and experi­
th e opinion which holds th at a t a curus, Seneca and P linius, and
in m ental physiology—above all, the
So to live is h eav e n : m a n ’s death not only all the other
an elaborate form in Lucretius
To m ake u n d y in g m usic in th e w o rld ,
physiological functions are arrest <1, C arus. \\ itfi the spread of C hristi m arvellous progress of the micro-
B re a th in g as b e a u te o u s o rd e r t h a t c o n ­
"pie anatom y of the brain, g ra d u ­
but his “ soul ’ also d isappears— an ity a t the decay of classical a n ­
tr o ls
ally deprived athanatism of every
W ith grow ing sway th e gro w in g life of th a t is, the sum of cerebral func­ tiq u ity , a th a n a tism , one of its chief
m an.
tions which psychic dualism regards articles of faith, dom inated tin basis ; now, indeed, it is rarelv th a t
*
„
*
as a peculiar en tity , independent o f world, and so, am id other forms of an informed and honorable biolog­
ist is found to defend the im m o rtal­
T h a t b e tte r self sh a ll live till h u m a n the other vital processes of the liv­
superstition,
the
m
yth
of
personal
T im e
ity of the soul. All the m onistic
ing body.
im
m
ortality
cam
e
to
be
invested
S h a ll fold its ey elid s, a n d th e h u m a n
philosophers of the century (Strauss,
In approaching this physiological
sk y
with a high im portance.
heuerhach, Büchner, Spencer, etc.)
Be g a th e re d lik e a sc ro ll w ith in th e problem of death we m ust point
N atu rally , through the long night are ath an atists.
out the In d iv id u al ch aracter of this
to m b
U n read forever.
organic phenom enon. By death -ve of the D ark Ages it was rarely that
1 he dogma of personal im m ortal­
a
brave
free-thinker
ventured
to
ex­
T h is is th e life to com e understand sim ply the definite ce> s-
ity owes its great popularity and its
W hich m a rty re d m en have m ade m ore
press
an
opinion
to
th
e
c
o
n
tra
ry
:
ation of the vital activity of the In ­
high im portance to its intim atecon-
g lo rio u s
the
exam
ples
of
Gilileo,
G
iordano
nection with the teaching of C h rist­
F o r u s who striv e to follow . M ay 1 dividual organism , no m a tte r to
Bruno,
and
other
independent
p
h
i­
which stage or category of individ­
rea ch
ianity. This circum stance gave rise
losophers,
effectually
destroyed
all
T h at p u re s t heaven, be to o th e r so u ls
uality the organism in question i
to the erroneous and still prevalent
Heresy only belief th a t the myth is a fu n d a­
T he c u p of s tr e n g th in som e g re a t longs. M an is dead when his o* i freedom of utterance.
ag o n y ,
personality ceases to exist, w hether Became possible- whan tl. ; B efore,a- m ental d em en t of all the higher
E n k in d le g e n ero u s a rd o r, feed p u re
he has left offspring th a t they may tion and the R enaissance had religions. This is by no means the
love,
broken the power of the papacy.
Beget th e sm iles th a t have n o c r u e lty __ continue to propagate for m any
case. The higher Oriental religions
The
history
of
m
odern
philosophy
Be t he sw eet p resen ce of a good d iffu sed , generations or not.
In a certain
include no belief whatever in the
tells
of
the
m
anifold
m
ethod-
by
A n d in d iffu sio n ever m ore in te n se .
sense we often say th a t the m inds
im m ortality of the soul; it is not
So sh a ll I jo in th e c h o ir in v isib le
which
the
m
atured
mind
of
man
of great men (in a dynasty of em i­
found in Buddhism , the religion
W hose m u sic is th e g la d n e ss of th e
sought
to
rid
itself
of
the
su
p
ersti­
nent rulers, for instance, or a fam ­
th a t dom inates th irty per cent of
w orld.
tion
of
im
m
ortality.
Still,
the
in­
ily of talented artists) live for m any
the entire hum an ra ce; it is not
tim
ate
connection
o
f
the
belief
with
The Im m o rta lity of t h s Soul.
generations : and in the sam e wav
found in the ancient popular relig­
the
C
hristian
dogm
a
’invested
it
we speak of the ‘ soul” of a noble
ion of the Chinese, nor in the re­
BY ERNST HAECKEL.
with
such
power,
even
in
the
more
woman living in her children and
formed religion of Confucius which
em
ancipated
sphere
of
P
ro
te
sta
n
t­
H E N we tu rn from the c h ild re n ’s children. But in these ism, th a t the m ajo rity of convinced succeeded i t ; and, what is still
genetic study of the soul cases we are dealing with intricate free-thinkers kept th e ir sentim ents more signicant, it is not found in
to the great question of phenom ena of H eredity, in which a to them selves. From time to tim e, the earlier and purer religion of the
Jew s. N either in the “ five Mosaic
its im m o rtality , we come to th a t microscopic cell (the sperm -cell of
some
distinguished
scholar
ven­
books,” nor in any of the w ritings
highest point of superstition which the fath er or egg-cell of the m other)
tured
to
m
ake
a
frank
declaration
of the Old Testam ent which were
is regarded as the im pregnable cit­ tran sm its certain features to off­
of
his
belief
in
the
im
possibility
of
w ritten before the Babylonian Ex­
adel of all m ystical and d u alistic spring. T he p a rtic u la r personali­
the
continued
life
of
the
soul
after
ile, is there any trace of the notion
notions. For in this crucial ques­ ties who prodnce those sexual cells
death.
1
his
w'as
done
in
Erance
of individual existenee after death
tion, more th an in any other prob­ in thousands are m ortal beings,
in
the
second
half
of
the
eighteenth
It was unknown to the earliest
lem, philosophic th ought is com pli­ and at their d eath their personal
century
by
V
oltaire,
D
anton,
M
ira-
speaking man (the hypothetical
cated by the selfish interest of the psychic activ ity is extinguished
beau, and others, and by leaders of
like
every
other
physiological
func
homo prim igenitus of Asia), to his
hum an person” ..t,y, who is determ ­
the m aterialistic school of those
tion.
j , rr
i
t
predecessors, of course, the pithe-
ined to have a guarantee of his ex­
days, Holbach, Lam ettrie etc Thp
..
,
B
*
•
•
,
'
canthropus
and
prothylobates
istence beyond the grave at any
sa
m e opinion
nninirm wua
a f^ ^ A ^ A
1
J
a a n n d a
same
was A defended
by ac
the
............
...
ptiH hud it asserted in philo
to the least developed of his modern
price. This “ higher
necessity
of
friend the
of the Ma
M aterialists,
feeling” is so powerful th a t it sweeps S° phic’ and especially in theologi- g able test*of
te r' aIlHtH> the successors, the V eddabs of Ceylon,
aside all logical argum ents of criti- c a *’ wor^ 8
belief in th e im m or
'
<> ænzo erns, t i e the Seelongs of In d ia, and other
cal reason. Consciously or un-
°f the hum an soul was origi-
•
Sans- d istan t races. W ith the develop-
consciously, most men are influ- n a,ly shared by all m en—or, at
r
' ,h
" ° U, ref erick the merit of reason and deeper reflection
enced in all their general views, ,ea8t’ h-v all “ ra tio n a l” men. T h a t
/ / A . - ’ ” ‘L J T " 7 / J ‘Hnat,Ht and OD Hfe and death, sleep and dream s,
and, therefore, in th eir theory of is not th e Ca8e- This dogm a is not m nniat’
. e ®om Pare 18 m ystic ideas of a dualistic composi-
life, by the dogm a of personal im- an o r’gbial idea of the hum an m ind,
gUccep(,or of o fi,
tion of our nature were evolved—
m o rtality ; and to th is theoretical nor i,a8
ever f°u «d universal ac-
c 88or 0 o ay .
independently of each other—in a
error m
m ust
ust be
con- ceptance.
cePtan ce- „
Among thoughtful physicians the num ber of the earlier races. Very
error
be added
added practical
practical con-i
•
W
sequences of the most far-reaching
,*
*
•
convlcl,on that the existence of the different influences were at work in
character.
is our
therefore, t t h h a a ^ n U
a U s m
sm
character. It
It is
our task,
task, therefore"
^ h ^ i b c ^ ï T ” r i e i ^ l i Z b ” “ ' 7 *OU' C‘ me ,o a " end *“ 8‘ de#th
de»«h has
>'«
polypbyietic creations-w or-
e>, thanati. m which originally charac- been common for centuries : gener- ship of ancestors, love of life and