"According to my view," replied Delapine after a moment's reflection, "the object is to enable a minute particle of the infinite Spirit or Mind, which we call a soul, to be detached from our parent, and become a separate unit. The moment self-consciousness, or the 'ego,' as it is sometimes called, is established during the course of the development of the body, it becomes a thinking soul, and is then endowed with its own individuality modified by countless ancestral traits which it has inherited through an infinitely long series of transformations extending throughout the entire animal kingdom. Only in this way can a fraction of the Eternal Spirit which is passed on from generation to generation become isolated and individualized as a self-conscious immortal entity. And the only conceivable use of the body is to allow of its faculties becoming formed and developed in its 'ego' or 'self.' It is the growth of the body that permits of the soul acquiring the experience, knowledge, and attributes which together contribute to mould and create our human personality, and which form an essential step in the progress of the soul to higher planes of existence. "These appear to me to be some of the reasons why it is essential that the soul should be clothed in a bodily envelope as a preparation for a higher existence, and as soon as the soul has acquired these qualities, and its vitality has been transmitted to the offspring, the body has no further raison d'etre for existing, and therefore remains a mere useless shell whose future is but to die. We find the same scheme (although I admit it is a very imperfect simile) in the pupa stage of many of the insects, which is the necessary prelude to its emergence as the Imago, or perfect insect. "Life is so bound up with, and inseparable from Mind, that it is impossible for us in the present state of our knowledge to say whether Life is the product of Mind, or whether Mind is the product of Life. Our knowledge is so limited that we can hardly explain anything. For instance, you may ask me what is light, or electricity, or magnetism, or gravity, or matter even? What originates force or energy? You see how ignorant I am, I cannot even answer the simplest of these questions. You may remember that the great naturalist Ernst Haeckel wrote a book entitled _The Riddles of the Universe_. In that book he attempted to explain these riddles which I have just asked you. These riddles remain exactly as they were before--unanswered." "But one thing you have not answered yet," interrupted Riche. "Is there any absolute proof that we retain our individuality and self-consciousness after death, or in other words, shall we not only survive death but become aware of the fact."