The thing about Jonah Magnus and bodyhopping, at least by the time he is Elias Bouchard, he doesn’t really go out of his way to imitate the person whose face he is wearing. He gets an old-fashioned haircut. He is figured out by Gertrude after their “little chat”. All he has left of his original body is his eyes, so what remains of him if he doesn’t retain his identity as Jonah Magnus? What is taking on a new name, new personality and life, if not a form of death in itself? Only through keeping the name and identity of Jonah Magnus can he truly stay immortal. That’s why the ritual is the statement of Jonah Magnus.