substance, as the natural body is of material substance. It is the real individual—man, woman or child. It is that in us which thinks, remembers, reasons, loves. It is endowed with the senses of seeing, hearing, feeling, etc.—far more acute and perfect, too, than the bodily senses. It is not subject to decay or death, but lives on after the natural body dies. When that change which we call death (and which is the death of the body) takes place, the soul passes consciously into the spiritual world. It was there before death, but un-consciously while its outlook was into the realm of nature; just as the body in a state of sleep is, unconsciously, in the natural world; and when it awakes, it becomes fully conscious of its abode here.
While the soul tabernacles in the flesh, its senses are ordinarily closed; but when released from all connection with the body, its senses are all opened. It awakes to a consciousness of its existence in the spiritual world. It is then brought into open and sensible intercourse with the people and objects of that world. Its eyes and ears being opened, it sees and hears other spirits as plainly as we see and hear one another.
And when the body dies, the character of every soul is, and continues to be, essentially the same as it was before death. And every one's character depends on the nature of his supreme or governing purpose—that is, on the character of his ruling love. If he were wise and righteous before death—if he took delight in serving
