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6 together with  several  other  Christians,  had  been  arrested by  order  of  the  governor  of  a town  in  Egypt, and  brought  before  the  judge,  who  threatened  to  put them  to  terrible  torture  if  they  would  not  renounce the  faith  and  deny  Christ. Thereupon Philemon begged  the  judge  to  give  him  permission  to  speak; he  had  an  important  communication  to  make  to  him. Having received  permission,  he  further  asked  that  a large  brass  vessel  might  be  brought,  and  a little  child also. This being  done,  he  placed  the  child  in  the vessel,  and  closed  the  lid; he  then  requested  some archers  to  discharge  their  arrows  at  the  vessel. All the arrows  naturally  rebounded  from  it,  and  fell  to the  ground. Immediately Philemon  removed  the lid  and  lifted  out  the  child. “See,” he  said,  “this child  is  unharmed  by  all  the  arrows  aimed  at  him. So it  is  with  us  Christians. Our body  is  like  this brass  vessel; the  soul  is  contained  within  it,  as  the child  was  in  the  vessel. You may,  O judge,  torture and  kill  our  body,  but  you  cannot  injure,  much  less destroy,  the  soul.”  The  Christian  hero  was  forthwith led  out  to  death  with  his  co-religionists.

Q. How is the soul like to God?

A. The soul is like God because it is a spirit that will never die and has understanding and free will.

The soul  of  man  is  immortal. St. Augustine relates the  manner  in  which  a God-fearing  physician in  Carthage,  named  Gennadius,  was divinely instructed  concerning  the  immortality  of  the  soul.