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THE ANIMAL SYSTEM. 121
There is no use in vague blunderings about the con
stitution of man, I consider his future and immortal
condition a proven fact;' and if he exist, it must be in
Borne form, and with some organization. He exists as
a living, thinking, acting, enjoying being. And our only
possible conception of him is as the same identical spir
itual being that we now see him, only that the material
organization, or the natural body, as St. Paul calls it,
seems to be the necessary condition of a certain stage of
spiritual life, and when that stage is passed, it is no longer
necessary. An early death is, therefore, a great mis
fortune; and so, I should think, is an earthly existence
protracted beyond a certain period, in which the soul
is imprisoned in an no organization longer fit to perform
its functions. How affecting, and yet how natural, are
sometimes the longings of the aged to be set free from
what they f'ol to be clogs of mortality ! The dread of
death in the young, and the longing for death in the
•very aged, are equally natural, and both are voices of
nature, teaching us sublime lessons. (See further the
chapter on Death.)
The soul finds its normal expression, in this stage of •
life,- by means of the nerves of motion and their organs,
the muscles. By their means the soul walks about,
runs, climbs, gathers food, builds dwellings, gathers and
creates objects of use and beauty, which constitute ma
terial riches. By their means the soul laughs in her
hilarity, exults in her joy, glories in her triumphs, or
weeps over her misfortunes. And every passion and
faculty of the soul finds expression in this outward ac
tion, the force of which is conveyed by nerves, and acts
upon the muscles of animal life. They also, as we shall
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