t is not contended that clothes have
souls as well as men. . . . It can further be shown not only that dead
men never become spirits, but also that they are without consciousness,
by the fact that before birth they are without consciousness. Before
birth man rests in the First Cause; when he dies he goes back to the
First Cause. The First Cause is vague and without form, and man's soul
is there in a state of unconsciousness. At death the soul reverts to its
original state: how then can it possess consciousness? . . . As a matter
of fact, the universe is full of disembodied spirits, but these are not
the souls of dead men. They are beings only of the mind, conjured up
for the most part in sickness, when the patient is especially subject to
fear. For sickness induces fear of spirits; fear of spirits causes the
mind to dwell upon them; and thus apparitions are produced."

Another writer enlarges on the view that _kuei_ "disembodied spirit" is
the same as _kuei_ "to return." "At death, man's soul returns to heaven,
his flesh to earth, his blood to water, his blood-vessels to marshes,
his voice to thunder, his motion to the wind, his sleep to the sun and
moon, his bones to trees, his muscles to hills, his teeth to stones, his
fat to dew, his hair to grass, while his breath returns to man."

Attributes of God.--There was a certain philosopher, named Ch'in Mi
(died A.D. 226), whose services were much required by the King of Wu,
who sent an envoy to fetch him. The envoy took upon himself to catechise
the philosopher, with the following result:--

"You are engaged in study, are you not?" asked the envoy.

"Any slip of a boy may be that," replied Ch'in; "why not I?"

"Has God a head?" said the envoy.

"He has," was the reply.

"Where is He?" was the next question.

"In the West. The _Odes_ say,

He gazed fondly on the West,

From which it may be inferred that his head was in the West."

"Has God got ears?"

"God sits on high," replied Ch'in, "but hears the lowly. The _Odes_ say,

The crane cries in the marsh,
And its cry is heard by God.

If He had not ears, how could He hear it?"

"Has God feet?" asked the envoy.

"He has," replied Ch'in. "The _Odes_ say,

The steps of God are difficult;
This man does not follow them.

If He had no feet, how could He step?"

"Has God a surname?" enquired the envoy. "And if so, what is it?"

"He has a surname," said Ch'in, "and it is Liu."

"How