The soul of man -- often called the Psyche, and in the Eleusinian Mysteries symbolized by Persephone -- is essentially a spiritual thing. Its true home is in the higher worlds, where, free from the bondage of material form and material concepts, it is said to be truly alive and self-expressive. The human, or physical, nature of man, according to this doctrine, is a tomb, a quagmire, a false and impermanent thing, the source of all suffering and sorrow. Plato describes the body as the sepulcher of the soul; and by this he means not only the human form, but also the human nature.

Manly P. Hall