Collected Works (Vol. III)

IMMORTALITY 105 IMMORTALITY ‘*From this tale, Callicles, which I have heard and believe, I draw the following in- ferences:—Death, if I am right, is in the first place the separation from one another of two things, soul and body ; nothing else. And after they are separated they retain their several natures, as in life; the body keeps the same habit, and the results of treatment or accident are distinctly visible in it: for example, he who by nature or training or both was a tall man while he was alive, will remain as he was, after he is dead; and the fat man will remain fat; and so on; and the dead man who in life had a fancy to have flowing hair, will have flowing hair. And if he was marked with the whip and had the prints of the scourge, or of wounds in him when he was alive, you might see the same in the dead body; and if his limbs were broken or misshapen when he was alive, the same appearance would be visible in the dead. And in a word, whatever was the habit of the body during life would be distinguishable after death, either perfectly, or in a great measure and fora certain time. And I should imagine that this is equally true of the soul, Callicles; when a man is stripped of the body, all the natural or ac- quired affections of the soul are laid open to view.”—PLAto, Gorgias. IMMORTALITY. I. I MOVED. Remote from fear and pain | The white worms revelled in my brain. Who travelled live may travel dead ; The soul’s no tenant of the head. They had hanged my body by the neck ; Bang went the trap. A little speck Shot idly upon consciousness Unconscious of the head’s distress When with dropped jaw the body swung So queer and limp; the purple tongue Shooting out swollen and awry. Men cheered to see the poisoner die. Not he! He grinned one visible grin, The last ; then, muffled in his sin, He lived and moved unseen of those Nude souls that masquerade in clothes, Confuse the form and the sensation, And have the illusion, incarnation. I bore myself. Death was so dull. The dead are strangely beautiful To the new-comer ; it wears off. II. They told me I was damned. The Shroff? Gave me ten dollars Mex. (For ease Of English souls the dead Chinese 1 Money-changer. long the sole currency on the Chinese coast. Mexican dollars were Are taxed) to pay my way in hell. On one pound sterling one lives well. For luxuries are cheaply paid Since Satan introduced I’ree Trade; And necessaries—woe is me !— Are furnished to the damned soul free. III. God’s hell, Earth’s heaven, are not so far. Dinner brought oysters, caviar, Anchovies, truffles, curried rabbit (Bad for the apoplectic habit), While ancient brandy and champagne Washed down the dainties. Once again I seemed to haunt the Continental.} A saucy little elemental Flitted across ; I heard it sneer ; ‘‘ You won’t get water, though, I fear.” That’s hell all over. Good-bye, greens, Water, cold mutton, bread, and beans! They feed us well, like gentlemen, On chilis, seasoned with cayenne. Worse, one must finish every course. ’S truth, I had rather eat boiled horse ! IV. My first friend was an agéd monk. He fed on rice and water. Sunk His cheeks and cold his blood. You see The fool was a damned soul like me; 1 Smart restaurant in London.