There is, I presume, no individual in a sound state of mind, who can entirely throw aside all concern about his posthumous reputation, and about the events that may happen in the world after his decease. And if so, it clearly demonstrates, not only that he does not wish, but that he does not even suppose that his existence will be for ever extinguished at death. The idea of the shame of being exposed naked after their death, produced such a powerful effect upon the minds of the Milesian virgins, that it deterred them from putting an end to their lives, after all other arguments had been tried in vain.* The desire of existence -and of existence too, which has no termination, appears to be the foundation of all our desires, and of all the plans we form in life. Annihilation cannot be an object of desire to any rational being. We desire something that is real, something that is connected with happiness or enjoyment, but non-existence has no object nor concern whatever belonging to it. When a wicked man, under a consciousness of guilt, indulges a wish for annihilation after death, it is not because non-existence is in itself an object of desire, but he would choose it as the least of two evils: he would rather be blotted out of creation, than suffer the punishment due to his sins in the eternal world. It may also be remarked, that the desire of immortality, however vigorous it may be in ordinary minds, becomes still more glowing and ardent in proportion as the intellect is cultivated and expanded and in proportion as the soul rises to higher and higher degrees of virtue and moral excellence. It forms a powerful stimulus to the performance of actions which are noble, generous, public-spirited, benevolent, and humane, and which have a tendency to promote the intellectual improvement, and the happiness of future generations. Hence the most illustrious characters of the heathen world, the poets, the orators, the moralists, and philosophers of antiquity, had their minds fired with the idea of immortality, and many of them were enabled to brave death without dismay, under the conviction that it was the "I beseech men, for God's sake, (says Hale,) that if at any time there arise in them a desire or a wish that others should speak well of their death; then at that time they would seriously consider, whether those motions are not from some spirit to continue a spirit, after it leaves its earthly habitation, rather than from an earthly spirit, a vapour which cannot act, or imagine, or desire, or fear things beyond its continuance." messenger which was to waft their spirits to the realms of endless bliss. When Demosthenes had fled for shelter to an asylum from the resentment of Antipater, who had sent Archias to bring him by force, and when Archias promised upon his honour that he should not lose his life, if he would voluntarily make his personal appearance :-"God forbid," said he, "that after I have heard Xenocrates and Plato discourse so divinely on the immortality of the soul, I should prefer a life of infamy and disgrace to an honourable death." Even those who are not fully convinced of the doctrine of immortality, amidst all their doubts and perplexities on this point, earnestly wished that it might prove true, and few if any of them absolutely denied it.-Hence, too, the noble and disinterested actions which Christian heroes have performed, under the influence of unseen and everlasting things. They have faced dangers and persecutions in every shape; they have endured "cruel mockings, Scourgings, bonds, and imprisonments;" they have triumphed under the torments of the rack, and amidst the raging flames; they have surmounted every obstacle in their benevolent exertions to communicate blessings to their fellow men; they have braved the fury of the raging elements, traversed sea and land, and pushed their way to distant barbarous climes, in order to point out to their benighted inhabitants the path that leads to eternal life. Nor do they think it too dear to sacrifice their lives in such services, since "they desire a better country," and feel assured that death will introduce them to "an exceeding great and an eternal weight of glory." Since, then, it appears that the desire of immortality is common to mankind, that the soul is incessantly looking forward to the enjoyment of some future good, and that this desire has been the spring of actions the most beneficent, and heroic, on what principle is it to be accounted for? "Whence springs this pleasing hope, this fond desire, Or, whence this secret dread, and inward horror Whence proceeds the want we feel amidst the variety of objects which surround us? Whence arises the disgust that so quickly succeeds every enjoyment? Wherefore can we never cease from wishing for something more exquisite than we have ever yet possessed? No satisfactory answer can be given to such questions, if our duration be circumscribed within the limits of time; and if we shall be blotted out of creation when our earthly tabernacles are laid in the dust.The desires, to which I now refer, appear to be an essential part of the human constitution, and, consequently, were implanted in our nature by the hand of our Creator;—and, therefore, we must suppose, either that the desire of immortality will be gratified, or that the Creator takes delight in tantalizing his creatures with hopes and expectations which will end in eternal disappointment. To admit the latter supposition, would be inconsistent with every rational idea we can form of the moral attributes of the Divinity. It would be inconsistent with his veracity; for to encourage hopes and desires which are never intended to be gratified, is the characteristic of a deceiver, and therefore contrary to every conception we can form of the conduct of" a God of truth." It would be inconsistent with his rectitude; for deception implies an act of injustice towards the individual who is thus tantalized. It would be inconsistent with his wisdom; for it would imply that he has no other means of governing the intelligent creation, than those which have a tendency to produce fallacious hopes and fears in the minds of his rational offspring. It would be inconsistent with his benevolence; for as " the desire accomplished is sweet to the soul," so disappointed hopes uniformly tend to produce. misery. Yet the benevolence of the Deity, in every other point of view, is most strikingly displayed in all his arrangements in the material universe, and towards every species of sensitive existence. every such What has been now stated in relation to desire and hope, will equally apply to those fears and apprehensions, which frequently arise in the mind in reference to the punishments of a future world. A Being possessed of perfect benevolence cannot be supposed to harass his intelligent creatures, and to render their lives bitter with alarming apprehensions, for which there is not the slightest foundation. But, if there is no state either of punishment or reward beyond the grave, those desires of immortal duration, which seem at first view to elevate man above the other inhabitants of this globe, actual.ly place him below the level of the beasts, which bound through the forests and lawns, and find their chief enjoyment in browsing on the grass. They are alive to present enjoyment, but appear to have no anticipations of the future; they feel present pain, but there is no reason to believe that they are ever tormented with fears or forebodings of future punishment. They are contented with the organs with which Nature has furnished them; they appear fully satisfied with ranging the fields and feasting on the herbage; their desires need no restraint, and their wishes are completely gratified; and what pleased them yesterday will likewise give them pleasure to-morrow, without being harassed with insatiable desires after novelty and variety. They live divested of those innumerable cares and anxieties which harass and perplex the children of men, and they never wish to go beyond the boundary which nature prescribes. "The ingenious bee constructs commodious cells, but never dreams of rearing triumphal arches or obelisks to decorate her waxen city," Through ignorance of the future, they pass from life to death, with as much indifference as from watching to sleep, or from labour to repose. But man, amidst all the enjoyments and prospects which surround him, feels uneasy and unsatisfied, because he pants after happiness infinite in duration. His hopes and desires overstep the bounds of time and of every period we can affix to duration, and move onward through a boundless eternity. And if he is to be for ever cut off from existence when his body drops into the grave, how dismal the continued apprehension of an everlasting period being put to all his enjoyments after a prospect of immortality has been opened to his view! How then shall we account for these anomalies? how shall we reconcile these apparent inconsistencies? In what light shall we exhibit the conduct of the Creator so as to render it consistent with itself? There is but one conclusion we can form, in consistency with the moral attributes of God, which will completely unravel the mystery of man being animated with unbounded desires, and yet confined to a short and limited duration in the present world, and that is, that this world is not the place of our final destination, but introductory to a more glorious and permanent state of existence, where the desires of virtuous minds will be completely gratified, and their hopes fully realized. I do not see how any other conclusion can be drawn, without denying both the moral character, and even the very existence of the Deity, SECTION III. On the intellectual faculties of man, and the strong desire of knowledge which is implanted in the human mind. The principle of curiosity, or the strong desire of knowledge which is implanted in the mind of man, and the noble intellectual faculties, for acquiring it, with which he is endowed, are evidences and proofs of his immortal destination. Though this argument may be considered, by some, as only a branch of the preceding, it may not be inexpedient, for the sake of impression, to consider it separately, as it will admit of reasonings and illustrations distinct from those which have now been brought forward. The desire of knowledge is natural to every rational being, and appears to be a fundamental part of the constitution of the human mind. It is perceptible even in the first stage of its progress, and has a powerful influence over the movements and the enjoyments of the young. Present to a child a beautiful landscape, as exhibited through an optical machine, and it will be highly delighted with the exhibition. Present a second and a third of a different description, in succession, and its delight will be increased; it will anxiously desire exhibitions of new and varied objects, and its curiosity will never be satisfied but with a constant succession of scenes and objects which tend to widen the circle of its knowledge, and enlarge the capacity of its mind. Hence the keen desires of the young for shows, spectacles, processions, and public exhibitions of every description, and the delight which they feel in making excursions from one scene to another. Hence the delight with which travellers traverse the Alpine scenes of nature, cross seas and oceans, descend into the gloomy subterraneous cavern, or climb to the summit of the flaming volcano, notwithstanding the fatigues and perils to which they are exposed. "For such the bounteous providence of Heaven Of objects new and strange, to urge us on With unremitted labour to pursue Those sacred stores that wait the ripening soul, . -For this the daring youth |