being material may be shaken off. How far our future life will be
'individual', or, rather, how far it will at all resemble our
'present' existence, is another question; but that the mind is eternal
seems as probable as that the body is not so. Of course I here venture
upon the question without recurring to Revelation, which, however, is
at least as rational a solution of it as any other. A 'material'
resurrection seems strange, and even absurd, except for purposes of
punishment; and all punishment which is to 'revenge' rather than
'correct' must be 'morally wrong'; and 'when the world is at an end',
what moral or warning purpose 'can' eternal tortures answer? Human
passions have probably disfigured the divine doctrines here;--but the
whole thing is inscrutable."

"It is useless to tell me 'not' to 'reason', but to 'believe'. You
might as well tell a man not to wake, but 'sleep'. And then to 'bully'
with torments, and all that! I cannot help thinking that the 'menace'
of hell makes as many devils as the severe penal codes of inhuman
humanity make villains."

"Man is born 'passionate' of body, but with an innate though secret
tendency to the love of good in his main-spring of mind. But, God help
us all! it is at present a sad jar of atoms."]


[Footnote 2: The lines are quoted from Seneca's 'Troades' (act ii. et
seqq.):

"Post mortem nihil est, ipsaque mors nihil.
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