The Ghost of Guir House

"I have a distinct impression of the meaning," he said, looking up at

his guide; "but how, I can not tell."

"Yes," answered the old man solemnly, "you now perceive that this

stupendous temple commemorates the birth of liberty, or the death of

superstitions, and the consequent liberation of the human mind from

the slavery of false belief. The temple itself is a monument to the

whole, while each minaret commemorates the downfall of some

scientific dogma, and the consequent release of the human mind from

its thralldom. The limit of man's power over his environment has been

extended again and again; and even in your day, Mr. Henley, you have

witnessed such marvelous advances as have adduced the aphorism, that

this is an age of miracles. We speak from one end of the continent to

the other. We sit in New York and sign our name to a check in

Chicago. We reproduce a horse race or any athletic sport just as it

occurred with every movement to the slightest detail, so that all men

can see it in any part of the world at any time quite as well as if

present at the original performance. We photograph our thoughts and

those of our friends. We reproduce the voices of the departed. We

commune with each other without the intervention of wires. We have

lately pictured the human soul in its various phases. We see plainly

through iron plates many inches in thickness, and look directly into

the human body. Our food and precious stones are made in the

laboratory, and a syndicate of scientists has recently been formed

for the transmutation of the baser metals into gold. When man can

produce food, clothing, and all the precious metals at will; when he

can see what is occurring at a distance without the necessity of

lugging about a cumbersome piece of machinery like his body--when all

these and many other discoveries have been brought to perfection, the

farmer and manufacturer may cease their labors. The necessity for war

will no longer exist, as the righting of wrongs, the acquisition of

territory, and the payment of debt will not demand it. But all these

things and many more, Mr. Henley, will be brought to perfection

before the liberation of man shall have been effected, which will be

when he comes to understand that, with proper training and the

ultimate development of self-control, there is no limit to his power.

As I have told you before, self-control is the secret of all power.

The day is not distant when the dogmas of science will be set aside

for the spirit of philosophic inquiry. Then men will no longer say

that they have reached the goal of human capacity or that they can

not usurp the prerogative of the gods, for it will be known that we

are all gods!"