"You do not," he replied, "express it quite in the way I should; but you seem to understand me. What we call attraction, fascination, and love are the forces that draw the kindred elements together, and Swedenborg was, I fancy, not far wrong when he said, ’That the man and woman spirits become one angel in death;’ so will that angel also doubtless meet another kindred spirit and unite. Fancy if we could look behind us and see the millions of gathered lives that form our own. Truly no man can harm another without stabbing himself, for the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together, waiting for the redemption of the body. If," he continued, "you have never seen things in this light before, go and read your Bible; it is all there though veiled in parable from the eyes not ready yet to see: listen to the inspired words of men in all ages, and of all centuries; they point to the same end: study science, each new discovery is a continual verification of the eternity of all things, and of continued progress through unity to power. But come, let us return to the subject before us, so that I may get back as soon as possible to my story. You do not mind spending the night here, do you?" I replied that I would rather spend it there than in bed, and he continued-- "These chemical and mechanical appliances have as little interest to me as the books in the adjoining room, for they were but stepping-stones across a difficulty. I soon discovered that as my spiritual sense grew and strengthened through use, what we term material aids became unnecessary, and even a hindrance. It is well, however, that they were not destroyed, for they may be useful as lesson books to you." "Do you think," I asked, "that I shall ever attain to any of your power?" "No," he replied, "not in this life; perhaps in the next. You have, to begin with, not sufficient of the feminine element in your character; and, moreover, you have neither the youth nor the bodily strength to make it safe for you to try. You would either die or become insane in the attempt. The strain upon both mind and body in such a work as this is terrible; and the cause of my success has been owing chiefly to the careful following out of Descartes’ instructions. He says, ’I have been unable to verify my theory owing to bodily weakness. A man who wishes to succeed must be strong, and in the flower of youth, but let him beware of neglecting the body while he is developing his powers. A diseased body can never be trusted, it tricks the mind, makes it more difficult to distinguish falsehood from truth, and will even be the cause of illusions fatal to success.’