The sound of it was only overpowered by the need of
representation and creation in all departments-- that is, by the
artistic instinct; and it was further checked, whenever it tried to
express itself theoretically, by the already existing despotism of the
Church. This spirit of doubt must, for reasons too obvious to need
discussion, have inevitably and chiefly busied itself with the question
of the state of man after death.
And here came in the influence of antiquity, and worked in a twofold
fashion on the argument. In the first place men set themselves to
master the psychology of the ancients, and tortured the letter of
Aristotle for a decisive answer. In one of the Lucianic dialogues of
the time, Charon tells Mercury how he questioned Aristotle on his
belief in immortality, when the philosopher crossed in the Stygian
boat; but the prudent sage, although dead in the body and nevertheless
living on, declined to compromise himself by a definite answer--and
centuries later how was it likely to fare with the interpretation of
his writings? All the more eagerly did men dispute about his opinion
and that of others on the true nature of the soul, its origin, its
pre-existence, its unity in all men, its absolute eternitY, even its
transformations; and there were men who treated of these things in the
pulpit.
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