Soul deniers

"The soul-denier. - For it is certain that the body, even if it has ceased to live, does not perish, it only changes, but the self-consciousness, the self?... Answer: - Well, if the body is so precious to the universe that not a molecule of it can perish, why should the self perish, the flame of the body, according to the theory of inheritance, which is ever refining through time? If nothing is lost, but only changes shape, why should this not also change shape? For the self is not earthly matter, so it cannot take shape, but only change its clothes. If we imagine an immortal captain of a ship, we understand that the ship may sink, but the captain always escapes and steers a new ship again. The soul is the master and governor of the body."