This very moment thou mayest die. Think, act, as if this were now to
befall thee. Yet fear not death. If there are gods they will do thee no
evil. If there are not gods, or if they care not for the welfare of men,
why should I care to live in a Universe that is devoid of Divine beings
or of any providential care? But, verily, there are Divine beings, and
they do concern themselves with the welfare of men; and they have given
unto him all power not to fall into any real evil. If, indeed, what men
call misfortunes were really evils, then from these things also, man
would have been given the power to free himself. But--thou sayest--are
not death, dishonor, pain, really evils? Reflect that if they were, it
is incredible that the Ruler of the Universe has, through ignorance,
overlooked these things, or has not had the power or the skill to
prevent them; and that thereby what is real evil befalls good and bad
alike. For true it is that life and death, honor and dishonor, pain and
pleasure, come impartially to the good and to the bad. But none of these
things can affect our lives if they do not affect our true selves. Now
our real selves they do not affect either for better or for worse; and
therefore such things are not really good or evil. (Book ii., §11.)
* * * * *
If our spirits live, how does Space suffice for all during all the ages?
Well, how does the earth contain the bodies of those who have been
buried therein during all the ages? In the latter case, the
decomposition and--after a certain period--the dispersion of the bodies
already buried, affords room for other bodies; so, in the former case,
the souls which pass into Space, after a certain period are purged of
their grosser elements and become ethereal, and glow with the glory of
flame as they meet and mingle with the Creative Energy of the world. And
thereby there is room for other souls which in their turn pass into
Space. This, then, is the explanation that may be given, if souls
continue to exist at all.
Moreover, in thinking of all the bodies which the earth contains, we
must have in mind not only the bodies which are buried therein, but also
the vast number of animals which are the daily food of ourselves and
also of the entire animal creation itself. Yet these, too, Space
contains; for on the one hand they are changed into blood which becomes
part of the bodies that are buried in the earth, and on the other hand
these are changed into the ultimate elements of fire or air. (Book
iv., §21.)
I am spirit and body: neither will pass into nothingness, since neither
came therefrom; and therefore every part of me, though changed in form,
will continue to be a part of the Universe, and that part will change
into another part, and so on through all the ages. And therefore,
through such changes I myself exist; and, in like manner, those who
preceded me and those who will follow me will exist forever,--a
conclusion equally true though the Universe itself be dissipated at
prescribed cycles of time. (Book v., § 13.)
* * * * *
How can it be that the gods, who have clothed the Universe with such
beauty and ordered all things with such loving-kindness for the welfare
of man, have neglected this alone, that the best men--the men who walked
as it were with the Divine Being, and who, by their acts of
righteousness and by their reverent service, dwelt ever in his
presence--should never live again when once they have died? If this be
really true, then be satisfied that it is best that it should be so,
else it would have been otherwise ordained. For whatever is right and
just is possible; and therefore, if it were in accord with the will of
the Divine Being that we should live after death--so it would have been.
But because it is otherwise,--if indeed it be otherwise,--rest thou
satisfied that this also is just and right.
Moreover, is it not manifest to thee that in inquiring so curiously
concerning these things, thou art questioning God himself as to what is
right, and that this thou wouldst not do didst thou not believe in his
supreme goodness and wisdom? Therefore, since in these we believe, we
may also believe that in the government of the Universe nothing that is
right and just has been overlooked or forgotten. (Book xii., § 5.)