That each, who seems a separate whole,
Should move his rounds, and fusing all
The skirts of self again, should fall
Remerging in the general Soul,
Is faith as vague as all unsweet:
Eternal form shall still divide
The eternal soul from all beside;
And I shall know him when we meet.
—In Memoriam.
The purpose of the following chapters will be evident to all who maycare to peruse them. I have endeavored simply to read the soul of manwith something of the care that one reads a book containing a messagewhich he believes to be of importance.
While one class of scientists are seeking to explore the physicaluniverse, another class, with equal care, are studying the human spirit,and, already, startling discoveries have been made. My work is in nosense new in kind, but it is such as one whose whole time is devoted todealing with the inner life would naturally give to such a subject. Ithardly needs to be added that my method is practical rather thanspeculative. I am more interested in helping the ascent of the soulthan in accounting for its origin. In carrying out my plan I haveconsidered the following subjects: The nature and genesis of the soul,its awakening to a consciousness of responsibility, the steps which itfirst takes on its upward pathway, the experience of moral failure, itssecond awakening, which is to an appreciation that the universe is onits side, the part of Christ in promoting its awakening, the sense ofspiritual companionship by which it is ever attended, the discipline ofstruggle, and the nurture and culture best fitted to promote its growth.I have also sought to read some of the prophecies of the soul, and havefound them all pointing toward a continuance of its being beyond theevent called death, and toward the fullness of Christ as the goal ofhumanity. I have found a place for prayers for the departed even amongProtestants of the strictest sects.
A study of the soul, like a study of history, inspires optimism. It ishard to believe that it could have been intended first for perfectionand then for extinction. It is equally difficult to believe that anysoul will, in the end, be "cast as rubbish to the void."
In these studies I have tried ever to be mindful of my own limitations,and not to forget that a fraction of humanity can never hope tocomprehend the fullness of truth. Of that side of the spiritual spherewhich has been turned toward