There Is a Spirit in Man

Man is a complex being—a mysterious conjunction of matter and mind, a wondrous collection of energies and instincts, of appetences and aspirations. He belongs to the physical and to the spiritual, to the visible and to the invisible, to the temporal and to the eternal. Amazing creature, Who shall explore the labyrinths of thy nature? Who shall explain the enigmas of thy history? Who shall fathom the depths, or scale the heights of thy destiny? He only who called thee into existence, and who has made thee the reflection of His own immortality. In His light we discern thy subtle nature, thy varied capabilities, and thy lofty destiny. And shall we scorn His teaching? That were "high treason" against the Majesty of heaven. And shall we confound the distinctions of things, and level the ethereal spirit with the dust? That were to raise onr fratricidal hand against the brotherhood of man. No, precious, priceless spirit, we dare not thus dishonour thee. Thy retrospections and thy anticipations, thy hopes and thy fears, thy joys and thy sorrows, thy projects and thy pursuits, proclaim thee superior to the dull clod, and destined to pass the narrow limits of earth, and to expatiate in the immeasurable fields of immortal existence: there thy god-like powers will be fully developed, and thy capabilities of observation, enjoyment, and action, will find ample scope and appropriate objects. Stretch forth thy pinions, O "bird of Paradise!" shake off the dust of this vain world, and prepare to take thy flight to the realms of boundless being and blessedness.--W. Jones