Man's Action Upon Things

Man acts upon his fellow man. In special, man can enlighten or teach others.

Man cannot teach or enlighten angels, but by his speech or prayer he can make known to angels what they could not otherwise know, that is, his own secret thoughts and intentions.

Man cannot move or affect bodies directly by acts of free will. Indirectly his will can move or change bodies by its decision which makes a man take hold on bodies and change them. And indirectly, by holding the mind and imagination to a certain train of thought or fancy, the will can work a change in a man’s own body. Thus may a man move himself to resolution, to calmness in trial, to anger; and concomitant changes result in the body itself.Of course, by natural action, man’s will commands the normal movements of the body exercised in such acts as stretching out the hands, or walking.

When the human soul is separated from its body by death, it has no further control over the members of that body, or of any other body, unless God, by a miracle, should give it that power.