WHAT IS MAN?

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4446, 5 April 1883, Page 3

WHAT IS MAN?

(To tbe Editor of the Evening Star.) Siß,—One philosopher said that "the study of mankind is man ;" aud the same thing has often been repeated. Man comprises the whole of the universe in a condensed form; there is nothing in nature but what is to be found in him; there is nothing in tbe mineral, the vegetable, or animal kingdoms but what is found in him. He i* all of them and more. In man * c find the whole of the telegraph system, with the brains for the head office, and also tbe lens of the photograph. In man we have the rope, the pulley, the pump, and the double and single engine, and although so much is known, about him, yet, comparatively speaking, he is wrapped up in mystery. The little we learn about man from mesmerism and clairvoyance gives us a slight glimmer into him, to show that there are undeveloped latent powers in him of which, length, breadth, depth, and height we 1 know Very little. The most wonderful part about man, and the worst to understand, is the soul or spirit; that part of us which can think and reason, that . can love and hate, that has such a power orer nature,' that can make so many powerful agents serve him; minerals, vegetables, animals, magnetism, and elec tricky are so mauy servants at his beck and ball, for they, are all made to serve him; and .if we uke into consideration that he is a progressive being, and will endure for ever, our largest stretch of imagination cannot conceive what he will be in the future, for ejehath not seen, nor ears heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive it. And yet the most ignorant on those subjects tells us that man/is only matter, and death end* all. plainest facts can be disputed, even our own existence, but to thejgpirituaLminded, there is no fact more dear and sure .than, that man is a spirit, and endure'h for ever; and the body is only a, phenomenon or a product of tbe spirit that is always changing, but the spirit endureth for ever; therefore the real life of man is his inward life, his soul or spirit life. Jesus said the kingdom of, r God in within, and so it is ; the inward.* world is a most important world: then how. important it is to have this inward kingdom in a high state of cultura, that the fruit and flowers may grow abundantly, when the affections, the intellect, and' the moral nature are right. If the outward world be rather rough and stormy, then we can have a pleasant retreat by retiring within, and walk amongst, the pleasant fruit and flowers in the kingdom within.' It is impossible properly to know, what men are by their appearances, bat the life withiu is the reality. Imitated goodness or intelligence is nothing when compared to the thing itself. The one is spurious, a counterfeit, a falsehood, and a lie ; the other is the troth and life. If we did not continually labour under a delusion and only viewed things in a proper light as they are, we sho^d see that everything related to the spirWis as much superior to that which relates to the body as eternity is to time. The. food that the spirit wants is more important than the food the body. wants. The proper food for affection is love, the proper food for the intellect is knowledge, and the proper food for the moral nature is* righteousness. How hard we labor for the wants of the body when the spirit is allowed to starve for the want of its proper nourishment. If man only knew himself —what he really.is, what his origin was; and what his destiny will be ; that his great powers are unlimited; that he is God's ohild and has the same nature; and -that he is God's heir to a kingdom that will never end, but will go forward, making progress for ever. If this was understood and believed in it, could not j but affect every thought and action of our lives, and assist us m fighting the battle of this life better. We hear a great deal of talk about preparing for death, but if the above were understood what we ought to prepare for is not death, but life.—l am, &c, ' / ... J J. UOBN.