Then speaks Ahura-Mazda: Ask not him whom thou asketh, (for)
he is come on the fearful, terrible, trembling way, the
separation of body and soul.[3]

The Persian _Desatir_ speaks with equal definiteness. This work
consists of fifteen books, written by Persian prophets, and was
written originally in the Avestaic language; "God" is Ahura-Mazda, or
Yazdan:

God selected man from animals to confer on him the soul,
which is a substance free, simple, immaterial, non-compounded
and non-appetitive. And that becomes an angel by improvement.

By his profound wisdom and most sublime intelligence, he
connected the soul with the material body.

If he (man) does good in the material body, and has a good
knowledge and religion he is _Hartasp_....

As soon as he leaves this material body, I (God) take him up
to the world of angels, that he may have an interview with
the angels, and behold me.

And if he is not Hartasp, but has wisdom and abstains from
vice, I will promote him to the rank of angels.

Every person in proportion to his wisdom and piety will find
a place in the rank of wise men, among the heavens and stars.
And in that region of happiness he will remain for ever.[4]

In China, the immemorial custom of worshipping the Souls of ancestors
shows how completely the life of man was regarded as extending beyond
the tomb. The _Shu King_--placed by Mr. James Legge as the most
ancient of Chinese classics, containing historical documents ranging
from B.C. 2357-627--is full of allusions to these Souls, who with
other spiritual beings, watch over the affairs of their descendants
and the welfare of the kingdom. Thus Pan-kang, ruling from B.C.
1401-1374, exhorts his subjects:

My object is to support and nourish you all. I think of my
ancestors (who are now) the spiritual sovereigns.... Were I
to err in my government, and remain long here, my high
sovereign (the founder of our dynasty) would send down on me
great punishment for my crime, and say, "Why do you oppress
my people?" If you, the myriads of the people, do not attend
to the perpetuation of your lives, and cherish one mind with
me, the One man, in my plans, the former kings will send down
on you great punishment for your crime, and say, "Why do you
not agree with our young grandson, but go on to forfeit your
virtue?" When they punish you from above, you