The Ascent of the Soul

Ascent of the Soul, The

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Title: The Ascent of the Soul
Author: Amory H. Bradford
Release Date: July 16, 2005 [EBook #16307]
Language: English
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THE ASCENT OF THE SOUL
BY
AMORY H. BRADFORD, D.D.
AUTHOR OF "SPIRIT AND LIFE," "HEREDITY AND CHRISTIAN
PROBLEMS" "THE GROWING REVELATION," "THE AGE OF
FAITH" "MESSAGES OF THE MASTERS," ETC.

NEW YORK THE OUTLOOK COMPANY 1902
Copyright, 1902 By The Outlook Company
Mount Pleasant Press J. Horace McFarland Company Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania

To The Memory of My Father
_That each, who seems a separate whole, Should move his rounds, and
fusing all The skirts of self again, should fall Remerging in the general
Soul,
Is faith as vague as all unsweet: Eternal form shall still divide The
eternal soul from all beside; And I shall know him when we meet._
--_In Memoriam._

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of the following chapters will be evident to all who may
care to peruse them. I have endeavored simply to read the soul of man
with something of the care that one reads a book containing a message
which he believes to be of importance.
While one class of scientists are seeking to explore the physical
universe, another class, with equal care, are studying the human spirit,
and, already, startling discoveries have been made. My work is in no
sense new in kind, but it is such as one whose whole time is devoted to
dealing with the inner life would naturally give to such a subject. It
hardly needs to be added that my method is practical rather than
speculative. I am more interested in helping the ascent of the soul than
in accounting for its origin. In carrying out my plan I have considered
the following subjects: The nature and genesis of the soul, its

awakening to a consciousness of responsibility, the steps which it first
takes on its upward pathway, the experience of moral failure, its second
awakening, which is to an appreciation that the universe is on its side,
the part of Christ in promoting its awakening, the sense of spiritual
companionship by which it is ever attended, the discipline of struggle,
and the nurture and culture best fitted to promote its growth. I have also
sought to read some of the prophecies of the soul, and have found them
all pointing toward a continuance of its being beyond the event called
death, and toward the fullness of Christ as the goal of humanity. I have
found a place for prayers for the departed even among Protestants of
the strictest sects.
A study of the soul, like a study of history, inspires optimism. It is hard
to believe that it could have been intended first for perfection and then
for extinction. It is equally difficult to believe that any soul will, in the
end, be "cast as rubbish to the void."
In these studies I have tried ever to be mindful of my own limitations,
and not to forget that a fraction of humanity can never hope to
comprehend the fullness of truth. Of that side of the spiritual sphere
which has been turned toward me, and of that alone, have I presumed to
write. All that I claim for this book is that it is the contribution of one,
anxious to know what is true, toward a better understanding of a
subject which is daily receiving wider recognition and more thorough
consideration.
AMORY H. BRADFORD.
MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, _August 30, 1902._

CONTENTS Page
The Soul 1
The Awakening of the Soul 25
The First Steps 47

Hindrances 71
The Austere 97
Re-Awakening 125
The Place of Jesus Christ 151
The Inseparable Companion 181
Nurture and Culture 209
Is Death the End? 237
Prayers for the Dead 265
The Goal 289

THE SOUL
It is no spirit who from heaven hath flown And is descending on his
embassy; Nor traveler gone from earth the heaven t'espy! 'Tis
Hesperus--there he stands with glittering crown, First admonition that
the sun is down,-- For yet it is broad daylight!--clouds pass by; A few
are near him still--and now the sky, He hath it to himself--'tis all his
own. O most ambitious star! an inquest wrought Within me when I
recognized thy light; A moment I was startled