"
Commoro.--"Ha! Can you explain what we frequently see at night when lost
in the wilderness? I have myself been lost, and wandering in the dark, I
have seen a distant fire; upon approaching, the fire has vanished, and I
have been unable to trace the cause--nor could I find the spot."
"Have you no idea of the existence of spirits superior to either man or
beast? Have you no fear of evil except from bodily causes?"
Commoro.--"I am afraid of elephants and other animals when in the jungle
at night, but of nothing else."
"Then you believe in nothing; neither in a good nor evil spirit! And you
believe that when you die it will be the end of body and spirit; that
you are like other animals; and that there is no distinction between man
and beast; both disappear, and end at death?"
Commoro.--"Of course they do."
"Do you see no difference in good and bad actions?" Commoro.--"Yes,
there are good and bad in men and beasts."
"Do you think that a good man and a bad must share the same fate, and
alike die, and end?"
Commoro.--"Yes; what else can they do? How can they help dying? Good and
bad all die."
"Their bodies perish, but their spirits remain; the good in happiness,
the bad in misery. If you have no belief in a future state, WHY SHOULD A
MAN BE GOOD? Why should he not be bad, if he can prosper by wickedness?"
Commoro.
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