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| The True Functions of the Soul. Christ Assumed It in His Perfect Human Nature, Not to Reveal and Explain It, But to Save It. Its Resurrection with the Body Assured by Christ.
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Chapter XII.—The True Functions of the Soul. Christ Assumed
It in His Perfect Human Nature, Not to Reveal and Explain It, But to
Save It. Its Resurrection with the Body Assured by Christ.
Well, now, let it be granted that the soul is made
apparent by the flesh,7104
on the assumption
that it was evidently necessary7105
that it should
be made apparent in some way or other, that is, as being incognizable
to itself and to us: there is still an absurd distinction in this
hypothesis, which implies that we are ourselves separate from
our soul, when all that we are is soul. Indeed,7106
without the soul we are nothing; there is not even the name of a human
being, only that of a carcase. If, then, we are ignorant of the soul,
it is in fact the soul that is ignorant of itself. Thus the only
remaining question left for us to look into is, whether the soul was in
this matter so ignorant of itself that it became known in any way it
could.7107
The soul, in my
opinion,7108
is
sensual.7109
| 7109 Sensualis: endowed
with sense. | Nothing, therefore,
pertaining to the soul is unconnected with sense,7110
| 7110 Nihil animale sine
sensu. | nothing pertaining to sense is unconnected
with the soul.7111
| 7111 Nihil sensuale sine
anima. | And if I may use
the expression for the sake of emphasis, I would say,
“Animœ anima sensus
est”—“Sense is the soul’s very
soul.” Now, since it is the soul that imparts the faculty
of perception7112
| 7112 We should have been
glad of a shorter phrase for sentire (“to use
sense”), had the whole course of the passage permitted it. | to all (that have
sense), and since it is itself that perceives the very senses, not to
say properties, of them all, how is it likely that it did not itself
receive sense as its own natural constitution? Whence is it to know
what is necessary for itself under given circumstances, from the very
necessity of natural causes, if it knows not its own property, and what
is necessary for it? To recognise this indeed is within the competence
of every soul; it has, I mean, a practical knowledge of itself, without
which knowledge of itself no soul could possibly have exercised its own
functions.7113
I suppose, too,
that it is especially suitable that man, the only rational animal,
should have been furnished with such a soul as would make him the
rational animal, itself being pre-eminently rational. Now, how can that
soul which makes man a rational animal be itself rational if it be
itself ignorant of its rationality, being ignorant of its own very
self? So far, however, is it from being ignorant, that it knows its own
Author, its own Master, and its own condition. Before it learns
anything about God, it names the name of God. Before it acquires any
knowledge of His judgment, it professes to commend itself to God. There
is nothing one oftener hears of than that there is no hope after death;
and yet what imprecations or deprecations does not the soul use
according as the man dies after a well or ill spent life! These
reflections are more fully pursued in a short treatise which we have
written, “On the Testimony of the Soul.”7114
| 7114 See especially
chap. iv. supra. | Besides, if the soul was ignorant of itself
from the beginning, there is nothing it could7115
have learnt of Christ except its own quality.7116
It
was not its own form that it learnt of Christ, but its salvation. For
this cause did the Son of God descend and take on Him a soul, not that
the soul might discover itself in Christ, but Christ in itself. For its
salvation is endangered, not by its being ignorant of itself, but of
the word of God. “The life,” says He, “was
manifested,”7117
not the soul. And
again, “I am come to save the soul.” He did not say,
“to explain”7118
it. We could not
know, of course,7119
that the soul,
although an invisible essence, is born and dies, unless it were
exhibited corporeally. We certainly were ignorant that it was to rise
again with the flesh. This is the truth which it will be found was
manifested by Christ. But even this He did not manifest in Himself in a
different way than in some Lazarus, whose flesh was no more composed of
soul7120
than his soul was of flesh.7121
What further knowledge, therefore, have we
received of the structure7122
of the soul which
we were ignorant of before? What invisible part was there
belonging to it which wanted to be made visible by the
flesh?E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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