Philosophy of Rebirth-3

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If Matter were the principle of the universe,

as the materialist alleges,

then no farther questioning would be possible.

 

The before of our bodies,

would be a gathering of their constituents,

out of various physical elements,

through the instrumentality of seed and food,

and under the influence perhaps,

of occult but always material energies,

and the before of our conscious being,

would be a preparation by heredity,

or a preparation by some other,

physically vital or mental operation in universal Matter,

specialising its action, and building the individual,

through the seed, gene and chromosome.

 

The after of the body,

would be a dissolution into the material elements,

and the after of the conscious being,

would be a relapse into Matter,

with some survival of the effects of its activity,

in the general mind and life of humanity:

this last quite illusory survival,

would be our only chance of immortality.

 

But, since the universality of Matter,

can no longer be held,

as giving any sufficient explanation,

of the existence of Mind,-

and indeed Matter itself,

can no longer be explained by Matter alone,

for it does not appear to be self-existent,-

we are thrown back,

from this easy and obvious solution,

to other hypotheses.